


Show me love, not a dream

by jinwann



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, M/M, Mild Gore, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2019-09-25 10:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17119625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinwann/pseuds/jinwann
Summary: Their quest for the Fountain of Youth could very well be their last as the crew of Death's Angel .





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A 2014 repost from LJ that I'd love to keep in my collection. Done for the minseokful fic exchange.

 

  
  
  
  
Death's Angel had been docked at harbor for over two moon cycles. Sehun's lost count of the days, he hasn't really kept up; but for him, it's been far too long being tied to the land. He's never liked the land as much as he's loved being on the ocean, far away from grimy streets and toxic alleys. Whereas living on land only brought him bad memories of empty stomachs and weak bones, ready to collapse from use at the end of every day, the sea was Sehun's home. The sea is Sehun's addiction now, the salt water and sense of adventure like a drug and he had been hooked from his first step aboard Death's Angel.  
  
He'd been sent out to scout around the market for new deals on food since they'd be heading off soon. And now that his job was done, he had a bit of time to himself. Time in this Water Nation town passes at snail's pace, he thinks. Day in and day out it was the same, and he'd become desperate for escape from the cycle once more.  
  
He doesn't really care where he goes now, everyone is off finishing their own duties on harbor, but he finds himself wandering towards the docks. He takes a seat at the edge, popping a few buttons from his shirt and sliding off his boots, taking care that the extra dagger he keeps there wouldn't slip out. The ocean water is warm for mid-morning, and the heat's only going to get worse for the day.  
  
"Hey, Sehun!" Chanyeol calls out, making his way to the dock with three full sacks of potatoes in his arms. He takes care not to damage the food when he drops the sacks with a huff. He stretches like a cat with long arms pulled high over his head and back arched until it pops. Chanyeol slides his shoes off and takes a seat next to Sehun, immediately kicking his feet in the water and watching the small water ripples fade out. "Did you hear? We might be heading back out within the week. We've got a few more supplies to get and then I think we'll be off."  
  
Sehun finds himself smiling, heart thumping with the building adrenaline like the first time they'd ever set foot on a pirate ship. He and Chanyeol had been friends before they'd joined Death's Angel together. Chanyeol had been the one to convince him to run away, to give up his life as a street kid and try for the sea. His new life is better than he could've imagined then.  
  
Of course, he would've never reached this point if it hadn't been for the captain. When they'd been caught aboard the ship, Death's Angel had already sailed hundreds of meters away from the harbor, it was Captain Suho who decided they'd be put on a trial run- that if they could truly do the work of living on a pirate ship, then they could stay. Any other captain would've thrown them off the ship immediately.  
  
"Did Luhan finish his auto-mail checkup?" he asks, kicking a bit of water at Chanyeol's leg. Chanyeol doesn't even bat an eye.  
  
"I think he went this morning, but when I saw Lay later, he said Luhan's checkup had gone well. His prosthetic didn't need any repairs and they even had to extend his leg a little." Chanyeol flops back on the boardwalk, squinting from the harsh glare of the sun in his eyes. Sehun remembers when they were kids doing the same, when they were both toothpick thin and almost ghost white from hiding in shaded ally corners with empty stomachs. He shudders, even in the heat of summer.  
  
Now, they're almost tanned from hours out in the sun, Sehun working up by the sails and Chanyeol working on repairs at the side of the ship. They're fuller from the food they've stolen from other Water Nation ships and have more change in their pockets from the loot they've taken. They aren't the same scrawny street kids anymore.  
  
Sehun lays back on the dock, closing his eyes for a brief minute. But he can't keep still. His toes are still splashing the water, his fingers wind themselves in the thin fabric of his shirt. He wants to be out on the sea; he feels like it's pulling him in, where the salty wind whips against his face and the air is clean of cigar smoke and grime from the streets.  
  
Time passes far too slowly for Sehun, but eventually Chanyeol gets up and slips his boots back on. "Come on, I'll race you back to the ship."  
  
Sehun laughs, tugging on his boots and double checking that the dagger is secure. "Only if you carry two bags of potatoes," he says, grabbing a sack and hoisting it over his shoulder.  
  
He knows Chanyeol will still beat him anyway. But once Death's Angel comes into view, Sehun grinds his teeth and pushes through the steady burn in his legs and his lungs to make it to the ship faster.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Dinner that night, just like every night, is a mess of noise and food with everyone trying to talk over one another and rum sloshing from the sides of every cup. Sehun gets his hair mussed by almost everyone as he's mockingly coddled and good-naturedly (but painfully) punched in the arm as jokes are told around the table. The noise keeps him distracted until night falls. As much as Sehun enjoys Baekhyun's shouting across the table and Chen clumsily knocking over cups and plates to the floor when he's drunk, he enjoys enough quiet to hear himself think. The wait for nightfall is agonizingly longer in the middle of the summer, but the clear night skies and the cool sea breeze are worth it.  
  
He grabs one of the older apples from the kitchen, the batch is bound to be rotten soon enough, and he heads out to the deck. He climbs up the mast with the apple caught in his teeth, feeling his muscles burn with disuse as he makes it to the lowest branch of the mast. He hasn't taken a fall from the sails yet, but he isn't willing for tonight to be the first.  
  
Four more days at the harbor, that's what Luhan had promised. Sehun could wait four days- he'd waited twenty years for a chance to get out of his hometown. Four days were nothing. At least the stars were nice in the harbor. Clear night skies were the best when the wind was a little cold but still tasted like salt in his mouth and clung to his skin. The smell of the sea wrapped around him like a blanket, all the more comforting.  
  
Sehun wasn't really sure what Suho was after, that's something only the first few of Death's Angel's crew really knew, but it didn't matter to him. Suho trusted his crew; he'd tell them in good time.  
  
He takes a bite from his apple, feeling the sturdy apple disintegrate to mush on his tongue. Just four more days and he'd be home.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Two days before they set off, the captain calls them for a meeting on deck after dinner. Normally, it's Luhan's job to call the meeting and delegate tasks for set off as he's the quarter master. Sehun figures it must be something important.  
  
"What do you think the captain wants?" Tao asks, plopping down next to Sehun on the deck and slotting into his side.  
  
"Who knows," Chanyeol groans, head heavy in Sehun's lap and body sprawled out on the wood. "I hope it's that he's got some chocolate- and not that bittersweet cheap crap they sell at the market."  
  
Chanyeol groans when Chen comes by, kicking at his calf. "We all know you're hiding a stash underneath your bunk, Chanyeol," he smirks, high-fiving Tao as he takes a seat. Chanyeol looks comically mortified, hurriedly trying to push off of Sehun to make for his stash when Luhan catches him by the collar and tosses him back.  
  
"The meeting's about to start, kid," Luhan chides, walking up to the front of the cluster of people on deck with a slight limp in his step. He must be still getting used to the prosthetic, Sehun muses. Luhan had spent almost all his time at harbor fixing and trying new auto-mail prosthetics. The rumor Sehun and Chanyeol had been told their first week aboard the ship was that Luhan had his leg amputated in the midst of a battle when a canon backlash caught his foot, but he still continued to work, firing the canon and commanding the fire power despite the pain. It turned out that during a trek in the jungles of the Earth Nation, Luhan had been poisoned by a bite to his calf and his leg couldn't be saved in time before the necrosis took over.  
  
Kyungsoo is the last to show up on deck, having been the last to leave the dining hall after cleaning up everyone's mess. The chef was probably the neatest person on the ship, hoping to stave off infections from the kitchen as much as possible. The rest of the crew were slobs in comparison, Sehun included.  
  
They wait a little in stale silence until Suho calls out to let down the boarding platform. It takes Chen, Tao, and Chanyeol combined to lower the platform down, being careful to hold it in place as Suho climbs aboard with a man in tow.  
  
"Ah, Minseok!" Luhan exclaims from his perch on a spare crate. "I didn't think the captain would actually convince you."  
  
The rest of the crew members look on in confusion. Sehun watches as Minseok settles next to Suho, hands clenched behind his back and a slight smile curling at the edges of his lips. Minseok is about as tall as the captain, clad in slacks and a thin shirt. His brown bangs are plastered to his forehead from the summer heat making him sweat. And even though it's dark, Sehun can see the shine in Minseok's brown eyes. He isn't sure why his heart stops for a moment.  
  
Suho clears his throat and adjusts his hat. "Crew, I'd like you all to welcome Doctor Kim. He'll be our medic aboard for the next journey.  
  
"You're the guy who fixes Luhan's prosthetic, aren't you?" Lay exclaims. Dr. Kim nods, shyly fisting the hem of his shirt.  
  
"Dr. Kim works as both an auto-mail mechanic and a medic," the captain says, pacing in front of the group. "Death's Angel is going to be starting a new journey, and we'll need a capable medic this time around."  
  
The statement is followed by hoots and hollers from the entire crew as introductions are made, immediately followed by patting the doctor on the back and trying to convince Suho that alcohol is desperately needed now in celebration. While normally Suho is strict about alcohol outside dining hours, he concedes and a few bottles are pulled out from the stock. They can easily be replaced tomorrow.  
  
Sehun slips into the background- it's easy when everyone attention is on their new recruit. It's nice to watch things from a distance, the way the doctor's smile still shines bright and warm like sun rays. A healthy flush makes its way to Minseok's cheeks after downing a bit of beer and the embarrassment with everyone's interest in him.  
  
Sehun watches from afar like he watches the stars at night. And yet, watching the stars doesn't give him the same thrum of adrenaline under his skin, pulsing through his head and drumming in his chest.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
While Sehun spends the late afternoon up in the sails, double checking that ropes are tied, noting which sails will be unfurled tomorrow, and looking for damages to the aged wood of the masts to avoid the strong summer heat, Chanyeol and Chen are sent into town to fetch the doctor's belongings. Minseok is nowhere to be seen the entire day, and Sehun figures he is in town gathering some last supplies.  
  
By sunset, Chanyeol is dragging two of Minseok's trunks up the boarding plank with Chen steadying it from the bottom and finally bringing up the last. Sehun watches as the two struggle to drag the trunks into the dorm rooms. It had already been decided that Minseok would take a room to himself, next to the captain's quarters, and Baekhyun would be moving into the spare bunk in Lay's room. The last shares of the food have been brought during the day and are secured in the hold. The navigation team has run multiple checks on their course set for tomorrow, reading the weather patterns to ensure sailing out on a sunny day with plenty of wind.  
  
Sehun watches as Minseok hops aboard the ship last, long after the sun is set, with an extra bag in hand. Odd, he thinks, for a man as serious about his job as Minseok seems, his bag explains something different. Off the handle hangs a yellow star shaped charm, formed as if by a child.  
  
Minseok doesn't notice him, slipping easily into the main corridor of the dorms. When the door shuts, Sehun feels the full force of the icy night wind sink under his skin. He shivers, eating the core of his apple in silence, spitting out the seeds before tossing it into the ocean, imagining that under the inky darkness of the night, the fish all scramble for what pieces of apple they can take.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Four days out of the harbor and Sehun couldn't have felt better. The sea is a sparkling blue, clear enough to see the fish swimming around the boat underneath. They've had nothing but clear skies and continuous summer wind currents, keeping him busy climbing through the masts to adjust the sails. The sailing is calm enough, so he's usually the only one up on the gaffs unless Baekhyun is called up to help with the second mast.  
  
Sehun spends all his time up in the masts, only coming down for food and sleep. On the third day, he takes his lunch of bread and cheese up to the highest gaff, watching the rest of the crew from above. Death's Angel isn't the biggest ship on the sea, but the masts are tall enough for Sehun to feel like he's looking at ants on the deck instead of the crew.  
  
Minseok is often in and out of the dorms. He never stays out on the deck for too long, only watching the crew members work for a moment, chatting a few times with Luhan or Lay, before diving back into the dorms. Sehun often catches Minseok unpacking medicines and tools in his room or slipping into the captain's room at night. He wonders if Minseok is truly bored, if the doctor enjoys watching the empty sea and tending to any of the small injuries that happen aboard. Sehun would be bored out of his mind if he were in Minseok's place.  
  
Suho calls them in for a meeting on the afternoon of the eighth day. Sehun slides down the mast, sweat clinging to his shirt and gluing the fabric to his skin. Chen, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol are in a similar state to himself, sweating through their clothes (Chanyeol has already shed his shirt). Kyungsoo, Tao, Luhan, and Lay all look unfazed, like spending hours in the sweltering sun hadn't affected them in the slightest.  
  
Chanyeol sighs loudly, leaning against Sehun's shoulder and squinting at the sun. "I bet he's gonna make us clean the ship," he whispers. They both groan just thinking about cleaning the ship. Suho's a stickler for cleaning the corners and nooks and Sehun's pretty sure there are other things he could do on the ship than clean.  
  
Luhan clears his throat, startling the two. "I should just make you two clean the ship alone," he says with a smirk, taking his seat on a crate.  
  
Chanyeol groans even louder in annoyance flopping on his back. "Luhan," he whines, "are we really going to clean the ship?"  
  
"Nope, no cleaning today." Chanyeol immediately straightens up at the captain's voice, heat rising to his cheeks in embarrassment.  
  
Suho mentally counts the crew members, noting everyone is here with a subtle smile. Minseok follows behind Suho, taking a seat towards the back of the crowd, a healthy red sunburn on his cheeks and the collar of his shirt damp from sweat. Sehun feels a little bad; the doctor doesn't do much on the ship but suffers the sunburn and sweat like everyone else.  
  
"Crew, I'd like to announce what may be Death's Angel's final quest," Suho begins, voice a little somber but his eyes lighting in mirth. Sehun's gaze meets Chanyeol's in panic. The blood runs cold in his veins.  
  
Even Chen looks bewildered. "Final quest?! But, captain-"  
  
"Chen, don't interrupt me," the captain sternly chastises, and that's enough for Chen to cut off his sentence and fist his shirt in his palms. "We're going to find the Fountain of Youth."  
  
The ship goes unnaturally silent, not even Chen has a snarky comment or anything at all to say. Sehun feels a little hollow, like the wind could blow the husk of his body into the ocean.  
  
Suho clears his throat and continues. "For those of you that don't want to participate, there's one final Earth Nation harbor we'll stop at to pick up a few more supplies. You can leave there."  
  
Again, no one on the ship says a word, moves a muscle, barely breathes. Suho scuffs his boot against the deck and smiles.  
  
"The Fountain of Youth is on an island hidden amongst the mist off the coast of the Earth Nation. There are two obstacles guarding the Fountain if you make it through the mist: Kai and the Undead Pirates and a beast named Dark Thorn."  
  
Sehun freezes, lips pressed so tightly together that his teeth feel ready to break through the tissue. He isn't ready to go back to the streets. Even with the little money he's got saved from his share of raiding ships, it isn't enough to keep him going for long. His fingertips are ice cold, locked in his skin, nails pressing crescents into his palm.  
  
Luhan stands up, pulling out a map Sehun's never seen. He's passed the navigation room a few times and has taken a look at the maps pinned to every inch of wall space, but never has he seen a map like this. It's an old map, torn, yellowed, and burnt at the edges. The drawings are faded, barely legible even in sunlight, but the route is marked clearly on the map. The Fountain of Youth is labeled more clearly than anything else.  
  
"We're making our way down there now-"  
  
"Why would you tell us now?!" Baekhyun stands, enraged, fists curled at his sides. He's ready to charge at the captain but Chen and Kyungsoo are quick to grab Baekhyun by his slacks and pull him back to the ground. They keep him trapped between them, waiting for Baekhyun to diffuse until all he's got left is a nasty glare in Suho's direction.  
  
The captain clears his throat again. "Like I said: don't like the mission? Don't come." And again, Death's Angel goes eerily quiet, a reminder of just how alone they are in the empty expanse of the ocean.  
  
"This mission is extremely dangerous," Suho continues, pacing back and forth on the deck, hands deep in his pockets. "We're all going to have to train from now until we reach port. Tao, you’re in charge of making sure that everyone is trained as best as they can be. Luhan, Lay, Chen, and I will focus on navigation to our last top and to the Fountain. Any questions?"  
  
Sehun feels his stomach roll like the first time he was seasick. He digs his teeth into his bottom lip, looking down at the floorboards of the deck. He isn't ready for this.  
  
Chanyeol notices Sehun's discomfort and places his hand at his lower back discreetly, rubbing in reassurance. It's the same Chanyeol's done for him when he'd caught a virus or went through his first fever aboard Death's Angel. It keeps him calmer, even when Sehun's mind is a whirlwind of confusion.  
  
Suho dismisses them with some final words, soon slipping back into the captain's quarters. "The Fountain promises eternity for those who bathe in its waters. Think hard, crew."  
  
With a grunt, Sehun stands and makes his way to the side of the boat. There's no doubt in his decision. He's going to stay on Death's Angel for as long as he can. The ocean is his home and the crew is his family. There's not a thing that could dissuade him from leaving.  
  
"You're not thinking of getting off, are you?"  
  
Sehun whips his head to find the doctor next to him, back leaning against the side of the boat, turned away from the sea. Minseok looks at him understandingly, eyes soft and smile warm.  
  
"You're strong; you'll be okay." Minseok pats Sehun reassuringly on the back before wandering towards Luhan, who looks to be in a heated conversation with Baekhyun. Just as Baekhyun looks about ready to pull some punches, the argument settles down with Minseok's arrival.  
  
Sehun manages a small smile, confidence growing in the swirling turmoil in his head. He may be Death's Angel's last recruit but there's a reason he's still on the most notorious pirate ship on the sea. Conquering the Fountain of Youth will be no match for Death's Angel's infamous pirate crew.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Let's get some training in then!" Tao says, boots kicked up on a barrel, polishing his thin sword. "I think Dr. Kim should get a few lessons before our next raid."  
  
The crew had let the information sink in for a night. But in the end, it had been an easy decision for all of them. The blood of brotherhood was thicker than anything.  
  
Minseok purses his lips, hands stuffed in his trouser pockets. "Sure, why not- if you think I can be useful to you."  
  
Fumbling through the weapons chest he'd been perched on, Tao pulls out a wooden sword and tosses it to Minseok, who catches it easily. He goes through a few moves with the doctor, working through technique in a slow spar. Minseok easily catches on, managing to put the sword at Tao's neck in their practice fight with only a few lessons.  
  
"Hey, Sehun!" Tao calls, hands cupped around his mouth. Sehun, startled, feels himself slip a little from the mast.  
  
He steels his grip on the wood, feeling a burn start to build in his fingers. He's still too shaken up to look down just yet. "What do you want, Tao?"  
  
"Come down here and spar with the doctor!"  
  
It's hard to swallow around the lump in his throat. Sure, he could take on Minseok. He's been training the least, and is on a level far below everyone else on the ship (Chanyeol included). But he's sure he's got more skills than someone who's only had a few lessons in such a short period of time.  
  
He makes his way down with sweaty palms, trying to pep-talk himself a surge of confidence. It helps a little, it makes the anxiety swirling in his stomach dull. When he's low enough to the deck, he jumps from the mast, landing a little shakily. Minseok watches him, calculating him, and Sehun feels more nervous and bare under the doctor's stern gaze.  
  
He catches the wooden sword Tao tosses him, nearly dropping it with the sweat accumulating on his palms. Tao lectures him on his stance, thin sword batting at the back of his knees and his bare arms. Minseok stares on in amusement, and Sehun can't help but feel a prickly heat crawl up the back of his neck in embarrassment.  
  
"Are we going to start yet?" he huffs in annoyance, glaring back at Tao who smirks and concedes, kicking back on the weapons chest.  
  
"Fine. You can begin."  
  
Before the last syllable is out of Tao's mouth, Sehun charges, tightening his grip on his sword and swinging. He figures he can catch Minseok off guard and corner him at the mast, sword at his throat. It's six steps away, and Minseok's backing up as he charges, hand loose on his sword. This is it, Sehun thinks. He's got Minseok cornered.  
  
But he doesn't. Sehun miscalculates, starts swinging his sword too far away and Minseok easily evades it. The doctor is short but limber, and he easily evades Sehun's oncoming attacks and blocks with his own sword with skill like he's been using swords for years. In Sehun's surprise, he barely manages to evade an attack aimed for his head, wooden sword swinging so close to his ear that any closer and he might've been knocked unconscious.  
  
The clacking of wood hitting is all Sehun hears, the doctor continuously blocking every attack he tries to land. Minseok is strong, something else Sehun hadn't noticed with his small frame. Sehun blocks the doctor's downward swing with his sword, catching the blade in the middle. He's almost sure he heard his sword splinter.  
  
"Is that all you've got?" Minseok taunts, eyes heated and smirk pulling at his lips. He huffs out a laugh, putting more pressure on their swords until Sehun's sure he hears the wood beginning to crack.  
  
Enraged, Sehun knocks Minseok's sword back and charges, driving a swing up from his left. But Minseok blocks the swing, forcing Sehun stumbling back until he trips on a loose board, falling onto his back.  
  
Sehun loses his breath, eyes blacking out, only for a moment, and that's when Minseok takes his chance. When Sehun makes to grab the sword that had slipped out of his grip in his fall, there's wood chafing against his throat.  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
He doesn't hear the sounds of the crew clapping over the blood rushing in his ears and embarrassment flushing hot through his body. The adrenaline is still burning like fire in his veins, pumping furiously in his chest. He licks his lips nervously, accepting Minseok's outstretched hand, soft unlike his own calloused palms, and levering himself up. He brushes the dust clinging to his trousers, ignoring the way everyone seems to crowd around Minseok, amazed and curious.  
  
When he looks back, he catches Minseok gazing up at him. He hadn't noticed how close they were until Tao claps him on the back hard enough to push him towards the doctor. He hopes the sunburn on his cheeks hides the heat in his face.  
  
"You did a good job, Sehun," Minseok says, hand outstretched for a handshake. Sehun, dumbfounded, doesn't know what to say after shaking the doctor's hand. Thanking him sarcastically for beating him and embarrassing him in front of the crew is what he imagines himself saying, but Minseok's sincere smile stops him from saying anything, feeling like his tongue has swelled in his mouth. Maybe he's a little dehydrated now.  
  
The attention on their spar had dissipated easily enough, especially when Chen and Baekhyun were arguing over which of them would fight Minseok next (Chen wins, pulling the excuse of making sure the new sword he'd bought in the harbor is of high quality for the gold he spent on it). Half the crew sticks around to watch them spar, watches as Chen effortlessly wields his sword and swipes at Minseok, who easily evades. Swipe after swipe, Minseok evades them all, limber body moving with ease and muscles terse under his shirt.  
  
Sehun watches above after he fills Lay's orders of adjusting the sails. Maybe, just maybe, it's the dehydration still at work when he watches Chen's spar and thinks of this own- the way his heart had skipped a beat when Minseok held him down with his sword.  
  
Or maybe he'd simply imagined it.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Minseok turns out to be talented in any weaponry Tao trains him in. Sehun watches from above as Minseok changes from wooden swords to real ones, stepping up the speed of their practice battles until he can hold his own against Tao at his best. When Tao switches up swords, changing Minseok from a broadsword to a cutlass then to a thin sword like himself, the doctor is still able to adjust, only taking a few practices for each to get used to the weaponry.  
  
Even when Tao challenges him with a musket, shooting out practice balls by canon into the ocean, Minseok still proves his talent. It takes a few shots to get used to holding the gun and the recoil after firing, but soon after, Minseok hits almost all the balls tossed out into the sea.  
  
Sehun is still a little jealous. No matter how hard he spars with Tao or Chanyeol, he never seems to be able to hold his own very well. Tao usually manages to knock him off his feet when he's distracted, when his eyes drift for too long at Minseok leaning against the side of the ship, staring out into the ocean. But the awe he has for the doctor far overpowers the jealousy. For someone who's been on the ship only a few weeks, Minseok is a fast learner, smart and adept. He always thinks three steps ahead, knowing when Luhan will pull out the blade in his auto-mail or when Tao will switch to using the long swords on his back. He's limber enough to dodge Lay's quick swipes of his throwing knives and knows how to turn tables in his favor when Baekhyun throws him off by pulling out the whip attached to his side. So far, there isn't a thing that's thrown Minseok off his game.  
  
And even when they've finished sparring, Minseok is sure to briefly check his partner for any injuries and heal up any scratches they get. He treats Chanyeol's sprained wrist with ease when the younger falls back on his hands at an awkward angle. He heals Kyungsoo's burns when the chef scalds himself dumping water out of a boiling pot of potatoes. He adjusts Luhan's prosthetic, tightening bolts and sharpening the blade for when the next raid rolls around.  
  
Sehun keeps training, Tao pushing him to his limits. He repeats moves with his daggers, over and over again until Tao is pleased. Sehun gets the moves and the swings and has worked through plenty of scenarios in his head about how he'll pull out the daggers in a fight, even has gone so far to spend hours at night in his bunk, staring with blank eyes at the bottom of Chanyeol's bunk as he imagines fights, pulling out his daggers with practiced skill. But when it comes down to a fight, he's nearly as weak as he began. It takes Chanyeol fifteen moves to get him pinned, Luhan seven, and Tao four.  
  
He isn't sure what it is, why he feels so useless in a fight. After spending the afternoon working through moves on the boat, Sehun hangs over the side, wood digging painfully into his abdomen as water splashes up in his face, and thinks. The water is clear like any other day sailing out on the ocean. Sehun only wishes his mind were so as well.  
  
"You're scared, aren't you?"  
  
Sehun curses under his breath, having tried to straighten up so fast that his hand smacked against the side of the boat. He tries to shake of the pins prickling under his skin, waiting for the numbness to dissipate.  
  
Minseok looks at him in the eyes, unyielding in his gaze. Sehun feels like fine china on display, letting all his chips and cracks become obvious under curious eyes. He shies away, looking back out onto the sea.  
  
"I'm not scared," he mutters. "I knew what I was going to have to do when I snuck on this boat. There isn't anything I can't do."  
  
The doctor huffs, scuffing his boot against the deck. "If you keep that mentality up, you'll surely be killed."  
  
Sehun almost wishes he had some tobacco because even if he's only tried it twice and hated it every time, at least it would help keep the doctor off his mind. Instead, he can only look down at the water and twiddle his thumbs, hoping his stomach will stop flopping like a fish.  
  
"It's not that easy to kill someone, you know," Minseok starts, staring blankly out at the horizon. The water reflection sparked in the doctor's dark eyes."But once you accept that you have to kill to save the people you love, that's when you become a true fighter."  
  
Even when Sehun gains the courage to face Minseok, the doctor is lost in his thoughts. "You don't gain the courage to kill unless you're truly put in that situation." Minseok faces him, a soft, dull smile on his face. Sehun feels his chest ache a little for the man who seems to have aged years within seconds. "You're young, Sehun, but if you want to get better at fighting then you'll have to realize you're going to have to hurt people."  
  
Sehun startles when Kyungsoo suddenly calls out on deck for dinner. Everyone starts their slow trudge into the dining hall, tired from being out in the sun and training or swabbing the deck. It's his turn to stay out and watch for enemies, so he stays leaned against the boat as Minseok turns away, leaving him with a sad smile and dull eyes.  
  
He glances back into the water, wondering how the water can be so clear and bright when his reflection in it seems even more muddled.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sehun pushes himself more throughout the week, asking for extra practices with Tao and sneaking up with Chanyeol to spar on deck at night with the moon high in the sky. He battles more and more, taking Minseok's words to heart. If he's going to fight, then he's going to fight for his home.  
  
The sea is calm that day. Death's Angel has been out at sea for nearly two moon cycles now and within the next two, they'll be sure to reach the last port. It's when Baekhyun starts shouting out in the afternoon that the calmness of the day eases away.  
  
"Fire Nation cargo ship off the port side!" he shouts, scaling down the mast with an eager smile on his face. He jumps the last few feet into the chaos of the crew, working to send weights to guard the hold and getting through the weapons chest.  
  
Sehun stands frozen in the chaos, watching as Baekhyun disappears to notify the captain. There, on the horizon, is a black dot floating out on the sea but an obvious flame flag strung high on the sails. It won't be long before Death's Angel catches up under the false pretense of talking.  
  
Suho comes out on deck, crew gathering save for Lay who continues to steer the ship. "I want Luhan, Kyungsoo, Chen, and Chanyeol to stay back on the ship," Suho commands, wielding the pistol in his belt and loading it up. "The rest of you are boarding the ship with me."  
  
Sehun stills, even when Chanyeol gives him a congratulatory pat on the back. He isn't sure what to make of it, that Suho wants him to board this time.  
  
"Wait, you're gonna let the doctor board?" Luhan asks, looking bewildered. Suho looks up from securing his cutlass to his belt, eyebrows raised at Luhan's retort.  
  
"And why not? He's clearly skilled enough to board."  
  
Luhan balls his fists and presses his lips together. He knows better than to question the captain's decisions; there's never been a time Suho has made a decision without good reason to.  
  
The crew bursts back into motion, Luhan going up by Lay to take over piloting the ship, Kyungsoo, Chen, and Chanyeol leaving to set up a barricade for the hold, and the crew going aboard warming up with their weapons of choice. Sehun waits for the crew to dissipate until the captain is alone. Sehun approaches him warily. Even if he towers over Suho, the captain's shadow is even more menacing and confident than him.  
  
"Captain Suho, am I really boarding?" he asks, hoping he's hiding his timidness well. Not that he isn't eager to board, but he's never done it yet. If they had to send anyone out of the usual group, it was always Chanyeol  
  
Suho looks up, pausing for a moment before he smiles sympathetically. "I know you can do it, Sehun." He gently lays his hand on Sehun's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "I know you've come up here with Chanyeol to train, I know you've been working hard, and I know that this will be good for you."  
  
Sehun swallows thickly, swiping his sweaty hands on his shirt. He almost doesn't want to say anymore, save whatever semblance of dignity and pride he has left, but his mouth moves of its own accord. "But what if I screw up?"  
  
"Who doesn't?" Suho cuts, patting Sehun on the back before heading back to find Minseok. "Just remember, we're a team. We'll protect you, just as you would do for us."  
  
Sehun's sigh drowns out the clanking of swords and thudding of feet padding against the deck. The Fire Nation ship looms ever closer with each passing minute and he's almost sure he'll vomit over the side of the boat, nerves swirling like a hurricane in his chest. Chanyeol has that stupid trick when Sehun panics, and he always says it's dumb and teases his friend, but he figures now would be a good time as any to try it. He holds his breath, closes his eyes, and imagines everyone-  
  
"You'll do great!" Chanyeol booms, slapping Sehun hard enough that he careens to the side of the boat. He lets out the breath he was holding in. Now frustrated, he puts Chanyeol in a headlock, locking his arms until Chanyeol barely breathes out 'mercy'.  
  
"Geez, Sehun, go easy on me." But Chanyeol grins and ruffles his sweaty hair and Sehun knows that Chanyeol isn't bothered in the least. "But don't you feel a little better?"  
  
Sehun does, though he wouldn't admit it. He brushes Chanyeol off with a huff, striding towards the canons being prepared to fire, his friend hot on his heels.  
  
"It didn't do a thing. I've been ready for this since I was born," he gloats. If it were anyone other than Chanyeol, they may have been fooled. Chanyeol, however, isn't.  
  
"You just come back alive with all your limbs intact," his friend whispers, immediately turning heel for the hold and running in. Sehun just stands dumbly, hoping his mouth isn't gaping like a fish.  
  
But he doesn't have much time to think. "We're starting the canon fire!" Baekhyun calls out, manning a canon with Tao at his side, canon ball in his hand and being loaded in. Lay and, surprisingly, Minseok step up to man the last two canons, preloaded and ready to fire.  
  
Suho takes the canon behind Lay, and Sehun is left to assist Minseok. The ship is much closer now, and an eerie silence falls upon their boat. The water lapping against the boat is as loud as a foghorn, blaring in the thickening tension. Sehun swallows around the lump in his throat, hoping he can keep his heart down.  
  
Minseok gives him a reassuring smile, and Sehun's heart calms down enough for him to smile back.  
  
The captain raises his sword, a fiery glare in his eyes. This is the captain of Death's Angel, Sehun thinks. Suho's name is notorious. There isn't a market stall that doesn't know of Suho's quest for the Moonstone or a child that can't recite the tale of Death's Angel's quest through the jungles of the Earth Nation in search of the Sun Temple. Many tales are just rumors, Sehun had come to find out within days of being on the ship, but the heroism and leadership attributed to Suho's name isn't. Suho is the most feared pirate captain on the ocean.  
  
Suho's sword wavers in the air with the wind. He swings the cutlass down, pure silver slicing through the air with a whoosh. A smirk tugs at his lips and death drips from his words.  
  
"Fire!"  
  
The canons are off, one by one in succession until the shouts from the Fire Nation can be heard. All their canons are aimed to miss, each round of fire landing within centimeters of the boat. Three rounds of firing and the Fire Nation raises their second flag.  
  
Chen raises the Fire Nation flag they'd stolen from another ship. "We're ready for boarding, captain," he calls, smirking eagerly. Suho nods, bringing his gaze back to the cargo ship. "Luhan, bring us in!"  
  
Luhan steers the boat over, riding on the currents far too quickly for Sehun to keep up. His palm is sweaty on the hilt of his sword, leaving black, wet smudges when he lifts his hand to wipe on his shirt. The dagger in his boot feels like it weighs a barrel of potatoes and the sun beating down on his back feels like he's stepped into Satan's innermost prison of hellfire.  
  
Death's Angel draws close enough to the cargo ship that Sehun can see their faces. But what catches his eyes amidst the scarred sailors with defined muscles and years of experience under their belts is the boys. The young swabbers with thin arms and sunken eyes, looking spindly amongst the bulky men next to them. A few look as fearful as he feels, a few more have their fists curled at their sides and a fierce furrow in their brows.  
  
They look ready for talks when Baekhyun pulls out his musket and fires into the crowd. "If you don't surrender your ship in peace, we'll take everything by force!" he shouts.  
  
The first mouth that opens in protest is shot down, the sound of gunpowder echoing amongst the ocean. The cargo ship crew goes into a frenzy, panic running through their veins as each scrabbles for a weapon, wrestling with their crew mates for the better one. Baekhyun and Tao keep firing muskets, Lay soon joining in and one by one, a few men go down.  
  
"Are we set to board?" Suho shouts amongst the chaos. Sehun watches as the boarding plank is set between the ships, Tao working to shoot back those who approach the board from the other side.  
  
"We're set!"  
  
And they're slowly boarding, Baekhyun and Tao leading the way over with Lay bringing up the rear. A man comes rushing at Minseok with blind rage in his eyes. Sehun's feet lock in place when Minseok swings up to block the attacker, pushing the sailor back with each blow of his sword until the man is down on his knees with fear in his eyes.  
  
When Sehun glances back up, he's standing alone in the midst of the skirmish, the boarding plank back to their ship already put away.  
  
The air slices next to his ear and his eyes meet up with a sailor older than him with confidence in his shoulders. Sehun catches the downswing of the sailor's blade with his cutlass, exhaling nerves as the blade shimmers too close to his face. Adrenaline starts to pump through his veins when he knocks his attacker back, wielding out his dagger and taking a swipe at the sailor's side. He cringes as the blade cuts through human skin, the agonizing scream ringing in his head. In fear, he pulls out the blade and wobbles back on shaky legs but doesn't have much time to think before another attacker is on him, a man much bulkier than the last.  
  
He isn't so lucky to dodge a few swipes, the sailor's thin sword cutting through the sleeve of his left arm and the tip of the blade catching him in a slice across his right cheek. He winces when the blade cuts more than a little shallow at his left calf but manages to push the man back with a swipe of his dagger at the man's shoulder. Blood gushes from the wound and Sehun's ears ring with another painful howl as the man staggers to the ground, clutching at his red stained shirt as the blood spills out from underneath his hand.  
  
"Sehun, watch it!"  
  
He finds himself falling back with a push to his chest, watching as a blade comes down, aimed right for his head. It stops midair as he falls back, breath knocked right out of his lungs.  
  
Minseok knocks the sword out of the man's hand, pinning the sailor down with a blade to his neck. "Sehun, are you alright?" he calls out, a shine in his eyes that's begging for Sehun to get up again.  
  
Sehun nods, scrambling to get his cutlass. He catches a blur in the corner of his eye and automatically, his arm swings out with the sword. The man rushing towards Minseok stumbles back in the face of the sword, quickly changing his direction and aiming for Sehun. He manages to take the sailor out in ten swipes.  
  
He chances a glance around the boat, survey the damage, and things are fairly calm now. The Fire Nation crew is being rounded up, muskets pointed at their heads if they so much as move. Blood paints the deck. He looks down at his hand, shakily gripping the hilt of his sword, to find it blood stained and sticky.  
  
"Do you have anyone down in your hold!" Baekhyun shouts, musket knocking the head of the captain. The man shakes his head, teeth grinding in anger.  
  
"He's right. Let's move it out," Suho exclaims when he comes up from the hold, proud smile on his face. Sehun and Minseok help round up the last few guys on the ship before following Suho and Lay down into the hold.  
  
He comes back up with arms of food and gunpowder- that's all a cargo ship this size ever carries. They pocket any of the gold pieces they find, packing away stashes in the food barrels and then hoist them all back to Death's Angel. Sehun can't help but see red no matter where he looks, but he forgets the hue in the face of Chanyeol's bright smile.  
  
"Good job, Sehunnie," Chanyeol says when he pulls the younger off to the side when the cargo has been loaded, Fire Nation ship long out of sight. Sehun pulls Chanyeol's ears, threatening to call him like a kid again, but if even if he wouldn't admit it, it's nice to have his friend dote on him.  
  
Sehun looks down to his blood stained hands as they hover over a pail of water. The blood comes off with a few scrubs, and his hands come out as clean as they had been before.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
When night rolls around, the alcohol is once again brought out in celebration of a successful raid. Bottles and cups of rum and vodka are shoved in Sehun's face, and after the first he doesn't remember when he stops. Suho isn't there at the table and neither is Minseok, but no one even notices with the pleasant buzz in the air.  
  
When Sehun knows he needs a break, he blindly grabs a bottle of beer and stumbles up to the deck. That's where he finds Minseok, leaning against the mast as he looks out into the ocean.  
  
"I can take you up, if you'd like," is what Sehun thinks he coolly says, but it comes out as drunken mumbles and twisted words. He flushes in the cool summer air.  
  
Minseok smiles. "I could get up there myself if I really wanted," he says before he scales the mast like he's been doing it for longer than Sehun has, coming to rest at the bar of the lowest sail.  
  
Sehun hopes his mouth isn't hanging open dumbly, but he tries to follow up anyway. He beer bottle slips from his grip and his feet slip on the wood more than once, and luckily Minseok is holding on to steady him when he nearly falls at the bar the medic is sitting on. With some amount of drunken, dumb luck, he manages to steady himself enough to sit there with Minseok in the summer night.  
  
Sehun doesn't mind that Minseok doesn't speak, he's too drunk anyway to talk himself. His mind flashes back to Minseok stepping in to save him, taking on multiple attackers at once. The jealousy swirls a little in his stomach, but he's still just as proud to have watched. Just as happy to watch Minseok shine.  
  
The night passes easily, and he isn't sure when he falls asleep because all he knows is that he wakes up with a pounding headache in his own bed, his chest a little hollow when he falls from his bunk.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sehun boards two more cargo ships, a Water Nation and another Fire Nation ship. Suho never sticks around when they come back from a raid. Minseok is always right on Suho's heels it seems. But each time he boards with Minseok, the medic gets him out of a tough spot, and each time afterwards, Minseok is there to disinfect his scratches and take care of some of the older ones. Delicate, smooth hands press against his face as Minseok wipes at gashes with disinfecting cloths and presses a new, dry cloth over the old patches. Sometimes his heart rate picks up when Minseok leans in close, warm breath fanning against his cheek. He figures it's just a side effect of the disinfectant or hunger or anything.  
  
It's not admiration or love, Sehun tries to convince himself. Definitely not.  
  
There's a clingy heat in the air, an odd feeling that sinks down on everyone's shoulders. Sehun knows everyone feels it- the sticky heat that signals an oncoming thunderstorm. The heat is not too overbearing, so Sehun doesn't think much of it.  
  
The day is spent between preparations, the majority of the crew securing everything in the hold as best as they can while the navigation team stays hunched over maps and barometers, double and triple checking their calculations for the storm.  
  
"We can't be sure of the exact size of the storm," Lay announces, folding the parchment of calculations and securing it in the chest. "We'll just have to take all the precautions we can."  
  
There isn't a cloud in the distance- not a single obstruction in the sky, sun shining down on them unhindered. Sometimes, these machines are wrong. The barometers have been wrong before.  
  
Maybe it'll be wrong this time too.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Lay's calculations are not wrong.  
  
Within two days, night falls with dark clouds overhanging the ship. The water is rough, waves tipping the boat around, playing with the ship as if a mere child's toy. The crew is in a rush to secure as much as they can before the storm hits.  
  
The rain then comes. It starts off with light rain that dampens the deck. Sehun manages to slip once trying to climb up the mast, Minseok picking him up with a timid smile and concerned eyes. Sehun tells him not to worry, but he knows it'll only get worse.  
  
Within minutes the rain pours torrentially, wind picking up and knocking the boat around. Everything on the deck is secured and Luhan and Lay are trying to steer the boat out of the storm, but the wind continues to pick up. The wind grows more ferocious in minutes and Sehun can barely see his hand in front of his face in between the pouring rain and the way the ship tilts and sways in the water.  
  
"Captain!" Lay shouts from the upper deck, knuckles white gripped on the steer. "The storm is only going to get worse from here!"  
  
Suho purses his lips, making his way to the upper level of the deck. "Keep steering! We're gonna push through this storm! Crew, we're pushing through!"  
  
And the storm does get worse. Sehun can barely see two feet out in front of him and he's soaked to the bone, teeth chattering enough to feel like it's knocking his brain around. He'd never been one to stand up easily to the elements, and being on the ship has proven to be no exception.  
  
A particularly strong wave knocks the boat to the side and Sehun slips on the deck, feeling himself slide against the wood until a hand grabs the back of his shirt and hoists him steady. It's Minseok gripping his shirt, teeth grit as he struggles to pull him back up. With combined effort, Sehun manages to get up and find a better place to stand, ignoring the scratches from the wood that had dug into his back.  
  
The wind picks up along with the shouting. Everyone's shouting on the deck, barking orders and curses as they tip from side to side. Sehun can barely think above the noise and he finds himself sneaking away, Minseok somehow pressed close into his side.  
  
He hears it first, the subtle sound of wood splintering admits the ruckus. He searches frantically, trying to find where the wood is breaking but he can't see a thing in the storm.  
  
"The sail, captain!"  
  
Sehun looks up in time to find the sails unfurling from the mast. They're still hinged by the pole but every sail on the second mast has come undone, the ropes flying out in the wind.  
  
He's already out on deck, trying to hold his balance when Suho orders him to tie up the sails. He makes it to the mast with no problems, but climbing is significantly more difficult with rain blurring his vision and the wood under his palms more difficult to grasp. He doesn't dare to look down.  
  
He climbs up to the outcrop with the loose sail, gripping the mast with all the force in his hands. His legs tremble as he tries to walk out and reach the loose end of the sail. Someone shouts 'Be careful!' behind him, but it's hard to hear anything over the roar of the wind.  
  
The panic in his chest eases a little when he manages to grab the end of the sail. But it still requires him to climb out to the end of the outcrop to tie the sail at the very end.  
  
He takes two sidesteps, one hand still gripping on the mast.  
  
He takes two more sidesteps, praying that the wind will ease enough for him to reach the end.  
  
He takes two sidesteps and he's reached the end, exhaling nerves. His cold fingers don't want to cooperate, as he sits on the gaff and tries to tie the knot. 'Come on, come on, come on!' he screams at himself, wiping rain from his eyes as he continues to tie the knot around the wet wood. The rope keeps slipping, the wind keeps trying to knock him back but there's no way he's quitting this until the rope is tied. There's no way the ship can sail otherwise.  
  
Everyone is depending on him.  
  
Finally, he gets the rope tied and secured. He checks the knot five times just to be sure. He looks up at the sail and finds that the upper half is swung out a little far, but the wind will realign the sails.  
  
He steadies himself on the sail fabric as he stands back up, clutching tighter when the wind blows harder. He mistakenly closes his eyes.  
  
"Sehun! Watch for the gaff above you!"  
  
He's too late to move because the upper half of the mast is already swinging straight at him. He stumbles back to the end of the wood but he doesn't have any time to react when the wood comes swinging right at him, pointed end of the gaff slicing through the skin of his upper chest completely. From shoulder to shoulder, the skin rips through his damp clothes. Blood pours out onto his shirt and before Sehun realizes where the wood under his feet has gone, he lands on the deck on his back.  
  
The breath is knocked right out of his lungs and his vision blackens as he lies there in pain, searing in his chest and knocking in his head. For a moment, he doubts anyone would come to help him.  
  
Because even in new clothes in a new setting, he's still a street kid- a street rat. And no one ever helps them.  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

  
  
  
It's hard to move when he comes around, blinking garish candlelight out of his blurry eyes. There's an ache that has settled deep in his bones, heavy in his chest and head. He feels terribly hot, like a fire had been set up under the bed.  
  
He breathes through the dull ache in his arm as he tries to move it- fingers gently reaching for the bandages wrapped around his head, pulling away to find blood clinging to his fingers. He tugs at the bandages wrapped around his chest, itchy and sore. He whines but no sound comes from his throat.  
  
So he waits in silence, drifting in and out of consciousness, for someone to come into the room.  
  
The boat has stopped rocking. Sehun assumes they've made it out of the storm- though what happened after he'd passed out, he can't remember. He still recalls the pain of his skin being sliced deeply and the inability to see in the storm. He shivers, hoping someone comes for him soon.  
  
His stomach suddenly twists painfully. His hands move a little to clutch at the skin of his abdomen when his stomach flops again, like freshly caught fish. He tries to breathe through the nausea, hoping it passes.  
  
But it doesn't and all at once, he throws his head over the side of the bunk and vomits. He presses sticky lips together to hold back the second wave, but it pushes through, fire burning in his throat. His eyes water and he grips his stomach, praying that he'll stop retching.  
  
How _embarrassing_.  
  
And of course it would be Minseok to come through the door. Sehun doesn't hear him or see him, but he feels his gentle touch on his bare, hot, sweaty back, rubbing in circles as the last of the waves of nausea pass.  
  
_I'm sorry_ , he wants to grind out in his mortification, but he doesn't have a voice with his raw, burning throat. Instead, he sighs and props himself back up against the wall with Minseok's help.  
  
The medic hands him a wet cloth, and Sehun gratefully wipes his mouth thoroughly, swallowing any drops to find reprieve for his throat. It helps only a little, at least he doesn't feel quite so disgusting.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Minseok asks, nose wrinkling from the horrid stench of vomit rapidly suffocating the room. He quickly goes for a bucket of water to dump over and wipe out as much of the mess as he can. Sehun feels even worse.  
  
"I've been better," he rasps, a dull bite to his words. His head is pounding, like a blacksmith had taken a hammer to his head, and his ears are ringing. Every time he so much as breathes, his wound burns as though it is splitting open once more.  
  
Minseok finishes cleaning up the mess and pulls up a wooden chair next to his bedside. He sits properly with his hands in his lap and his legs crossed, something Sehun imagines a city official looking like in a big, fancy office. A small black bag sits popped up against the back leg.  
  
"We should get your bandages changed and get some food in you," Minseok sighs, pulling out his stethoscope and a plethora of bandages from his bag. He pulls herbs and plants from his cabinet, so many that Sehun has never seen before, though the most frightening thing Minseok retrieves is a knife.  
  
He wants to ask how long he's been knocked out, what's happened since the storm, if everyone else is okay. But he holds his silence, staying as still as he can as Minseok unwinds the bandages from his chest. The last of the bandage is being removed before he makes a sound, groaning and wincing as Minseok pulls the cloth plastered to his skin.  
  
Minseok shushes him, small, cherubic face close. "It's almost off," he whispers, breath hot against Sehun's burning skin. He swallows around the dryness in his mouth.  
  
Sehun takes small glances at his chest, but can't take more when the urge to vomit returns. He hides his disgust in the crook of his arm, breathing as shallowly as he can. His wound is frankly sickening, blackened skin flaking to the touch, vibrant reds and blues blossoming from the gash, fading into a pale yellow that colors up to his collarbones and down to his ribs. The wound is still bleeding, red leaking past the blacks and blues and into the yellows. He shudders despite his feverish body.  
  
"It seems to be infected," the medic says, opening jars and digging through his bag once more. "I've tried to stave infection as much as possible, but it seems to have been for naught."  
  
Even then, Sehun doesn't speak in fear of embarrassment. He nods in assent instead, slowly feeling his mind begin to wander. The need to sleep returns again, growing more powerful with the minute.  
  
The cool press of a knife is what Sehun feels next, and his mind awakens enough to panic before he thinks that this is Minseok, a medic Suho trusted to bring upon the ship. He shouldn't have to be afraid.  
  
Minseok works in silence, being careful with his knife as he cuts away at the blackened skin of Sehun's chest. Sehun doesn't feel much, not through whatever salve the medic had used to numb the area, but he figures keeping his eyes away would be safer on his stomach.  
  
Minseok cleans the wound as gently as he can before applying more salves and dressing the wound again. Sehun feels like a child as Minseok takes care of him, like how a mother would take care of her son. But he doesn't particularly hate the feeling; he almost enjoys the attention.  
  
"I'll get your medicine prepared," Minseok says, cleaning up the cot and packing up his bag- the one Sehun recognizes with the star shaped charm dangling from the handle. "I've got some bread and cheese, but I don't know how much you'll manage to hold down."  
  
The food is bland, not that he could keep much else down anyway. He's done within a few bites and is reluctant to drink back the horrid smelling liquid in his face when he'd finished. Medicine it is supposed to be, torture is more like it is. It slides down his throat like molasses, thick and sticky but tastes bitter and sour. His eyes water and his tongue numbs from it.  
  
He swallows it down as best as he can. When he opens his eyes once more, his vision is blurry, tears dripping down his cheeks from the medicine. Minseok looks on with a little sympathy.  
  
"You can go back to sleep if you'd like," he whispers. "I'll return in a few hours to give you the next dose."  
  
But once the door closes, Sehun finds it more difficult to sleep than before.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
And it becomes harder to find any real rest with each passing day. Sehun spends his days with time slipping through his fingers, passing by no measure. He sleeps to sweat out the fever but finds every sleep plagued in fitful nightmares from which he can't wake. He stirs when he's forced to, when Minseok offers him watery soup and soft bread- the only things he is still able to hold down. Sometimes he wakes to find Chanyeol next to his bunk, running fingers through his hair in reassurance that he'll get better. That in a few days time, the fever will come to pass.  
  
Sehun isn't sure how many days it has been since the injury, or from when he first woke up, but he knows he's had to have suffered through the infection longer than a week.  
  
The nightmares that haunt him are all variations of the same: abandonment. Sometimes it is his mother he watches fade into the darkness, small figure disappearing amidst dark shadows that swirl around his eyes and blind him. It is most often a man he knows all too well- one he'd hoped to forget, thin and pale and life fading in his arms.  
  
Sehun hates that nightmare the most- despises the one in which his brother dies in his arm, a gash in his bony side spewing blood onto his hands, his trousers, and the filthy ground he sits upon. It is where he feels helpless and young, where he feels the gaping hole in his chest burn and ache with longing.  
  
And when he wakes up from those terrors, there is often no one by his side.  
  
Minseok is trying his hardest, using various concoctions of medicines and plants he'd packed to fight the infection. He changes the bandages as often as needed, tugging at what seems like a second skin and has Sehun nearly screaming before it comes off to replace it with a new one, drenched in new salves and herbs Sehun could never fathom learning the names to. He sometimes pleads with what voice he has not to waste medicines on him. He isn't worth all the supplies Minseok uses and throws for him, that he should save his stock for someone else.  
  
And the doctor lightly flicks his forehead, chastising him for requesting such absurd things. Every patient is equal in his eyes and everyone deserves any treatment to help.  
  
Sehun doesn't truly believe that, but he can sleep a little easier afterwards when a new medicine concoction knocks him out for the night.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
But when he doesn't have nightmares, when he's not locked somewhere dark inside himself, he finds he dreams of Minseok- what it would feel like to call Minseok his own, and the doctor the same. He wonders if Minseok would enjoy the stars as much as him, or how soft Minseok's pink lips would be on his own, or the soft brush of the doctor's skin at his arm as they sit close together in the warm light of the sunset, talking about something or other.  
  
He startles a little from those dreams, heart beating like a drum line and eyes wide in unease. He understands his feelings, he may be young but he knows. However, he can't expect the same of Minseok.  
  
Maybe he could be content with watching the doctor from afar, fighting sailors or tinkering with prosthetics or laughing along with the crew, cheeks flushed and teeth gleaming as he smiles so wide. In that moment, Minseok is almost angelic, soft sunlight brightening the pale, smooth skin of his cheeks and the pink tint of his thin lips. Sehun spends as much of the morning living in those thoughts, desperately hoping that his fever won't erase these moments from him.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Chanyeol," Sehun murmurs, trying to sit up so Minseok can conduct the check up and change his bandages once more. He feels disgusting, sweat clinging to his skin and drenching his clothes and he's sure he must smell. Chanyeol takes a washcloth soaked in cool water and wipes his forehead.  
  
He swallows, pain in his throat flaring up. "Chanyeol, the nightmares have come back."  
  
Chanyeol's hand freezes over his bare chest, washcloth dripping water onto the sheets. Sehun almost regrets bringing it up for the look of swirling understanding and pity Chanyeol gives him.  
  
"They'll go away," Chanyeol tries to assure him, bringing the washcloth to gently clean around the bandages. "If they've gone away once, then they can disappear a second time."  
  
The bandages are being pulled away. Sehun winces at the sting, holding his breath as a new salve is being applied- one that burns more than the others. Minseok hasn't inquired anything yet.  
  
The paste burns the more Minseok rubs it in and Sehun can't help but hiss, grinding his teeth to hold back any more noises. Chanyeol lays a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. As much as he tries, the burn is too painful- almost as painful as the wound itself.  
  
"Doctor, it burns," he whines, breathless, struggling to keep himself calm.  
  
"Just hold still," Minseok says, running his fingers through Sehun's sweat drenched bangs. "It will stop soon enough."  
  
Sehun flushes, hoping the red dusting up to his cheeks is hidden under the heat of his fever. His breath hitches as Minseok lays a hand on his shoulder. His heart pounding in his ears is nearly worse than his headache.  
  
When the burn does pass and his wound is redressed, Sehun is thoroughly worn out, eyes drooping closed instantly. He wants to stay awake, he needs to talk to Chanyeol more, but it is hard when the room starts to slip out of focus. Minseok brings a cup to his lips, fingers steady at his chin and tipping his head back. The medicine is strong enough to lull him to sleep within minutes, worries forgotten temporarily.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Recurring nightmares?"  
  
The splash of a washcloth dropping into the tub echoes in the room. The chair screeches against the wooden floor as it's pushed next to the bunk.  
  
"Yes, but that isn't for me to tell."  
  
The door closes with a soft creak.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
This is the worst night yet.  
  
Sehun wakes in a delirium, feeling blood dripping from his hands and a horrible burn in his chest. He's thoroughly drenched in sweat but he's shivering, veins as cool as ice. He thinks he's crying or talking or screaming with his hands shaking in his lap, pulling at handfuls of his drenched covers and feeling the fabric rip in his fingers.  
  
Minseok wakes up, shakes him so his head spins, but that doesn't deter what's spewing from his mouth. He can still feel the weight of his brother in his arms, terribly light as his ribs would show clear through his pale skin from how many meals he'd given up for Sehun. He cries and he screams and Minseok's arms around him are pushing him over the edge.  
  
He pushes and shoves the weight on him, clawing with bloodied hands until he's left a mess with a ghost in his arms, and he cries.  
  
He thinks he sees Suho and Chanyeol in the candlelight, faces ghastly under the flicker of the yellow light. They look more tired and haggard than usual but Sehun falls further into hysterics, a mix of embarrassment and feverish pain making him scream and sob.  
  
_"You can't leave me,"_ he sobs, curling into his chest and wrapping his arms around his knees. _"You can't leave me alone."_  
  
_"I haven't,"_ comes a reply Sehun hadn't expected. _"I haven't and I will never."_  
  
He glances up, and though he can't make out faces in the dark, with the delirium fading away, he feels small hands carding through his hair, warm arms wrapped around his shoulders, and reassurance whispered into his ear.  
  
_"I'll never leave you, I promise."_  
  
And tired and weary, Sehun blacks out, falling limp in strong arms that pull him back into a dreamless sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sehun doesn't remember the night later when his fever truly begins to fade, and he doesn't ask about the faded scratches along his abdomen and those the doctor dons on his face. Minseok grows happier with every passing day- anyone who visits comes with bright smiles on their faces, and Sehun is more easily distracted by that. Every day the infection fades away, the fever slowly vanishes, and he's left to regain his strength.  
  
Being bedridden for weeks takes a heavy toll on his body. Still slightly feverish and sore, he tries to get out of the bunk to a nearby pail of water for a drink. He nearly collapses under his own weight had Chen not been there to hold him steady, even if he had dropped so much since the infection festered, as his vision began to fade in the corners. He decides to try again another day.  
  
He is more joyous about eating more solid foods. Potatoes and fish had never tasted so good after weeks of bland bread and tasteless, cold soup. He drinks less and less of Minseok's horrid concoctions and the ache of his wound slowly starts to dissipate.  
  
He comes to find that Minseok's smiles and his presence are the best distraction to the pain.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Baekhyun is the only one on the ship who bothers to keep up with the mainland’s festival days, using Chen's help to ensure that each holiday falls on the correct day. And Baekhyun never hesitates to celebrate each one.  
  
"It's the night of the fall festival!" he says, sidling up to Suho with big eyes. "We have to celebrate!"  
  
And though Suho has never been one for celebrations, he gives in to Baekhyun's pleading easily enough. But only on conditions that the man finish his duties and does all the preparations by himself.  
  
Which leads to dinner that night out on the deck, long after the sun had set and the candles had been lit up. The ship is enveloped in a warm glow, from both the candles and the laughter boisterous on the boat. Baekhyun tells stories from atop his crate, stories of fall spirits like the Earth Nation's tree faeries and of the Water Nation's Snow Queen that rules winter with wrath, angered from the men that have used her. He even manages to drag Chen and Kyungsoo up for a song, singing off pitch and drunk but nevertheless happy.  
  
"Well look who decided they'd roll out of bed today!" Chanyeol shouts from across the deck. Sehun flushes, stiffening at the hoots and hollers because he's got a hand draped over Minseok's shoulder, leading him to a crate he can rest upon. He isn't even out of breath by the time he's seated and has food in his hands.  
  
The laughter continues, maybe even grows once Sehun's joined. He hasn't felt this good in a while.  
  
Maybe, he muses, this is what a home is like.  
  
"We should try some ballroom dancing!" is Chen's drunken, supposedly genius plan. He claims it's for when they land and to impress women on land and everyone does it during the fall festivities. And Sehun doesn't really care until he's dragged up by Chanyeol, practically toppling over with them both when his head spins.  
  
"I really can't- Chanyeol, stop! I'll faint," he pleads but it falls on deaf ears. Chanyeol simply smiles warmly and supports him, dancing with him slower than any other group and holding him more firmly.  
  
Sehun is embarrassed, horrendously mortified. But the embarrassment is almost welcome, just to feel like everything had gone back to the way it once was.  
  
Chanyeol leans down into his ear. "I told you," he whispers. "I said the infection would pass, and here it has."  
  
A little choked up, Sehun tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. "It has. Thank you for watching over me."  
  
Chanyeol chuckles, pulling a daring move by twirling Sehun in his arms. It definitely leaves him dizzy, but he feels the thrill all the same. "Go dance with your Prince Charming," he says and Sehun is pushed from his arms and feels like he's falling until Minseok catches him, stumbling back with his weight.  
  
"Chanyeol, you're supposed to treat patients well! Don't go throwing Sehun like a ball," Minseok huffs, straightening Sehun in his arms. Their eyes meet and Sehun freezes, stunned by the way the dull glow on the ship reflects brighter in Minseok's eyes. He isn't sure whether time has stopped.  
  
Sehun looks away shyly, hands fisting in his shirt. He doesn't want to dance with Minseok. Definitely not. And wouldn't the doctor find it weird? Would he not be embarrassed by it? He probably thinks this is a very silly thing to do.  
  
Minseok catches his eyes and smiles. "If I could have this dance," he murmurs, lips close to his ears and Sehun can only dumbly nod.  
  
Dancing with Minseok is different than with Chanyeol. Whereas Chanyeol steps on his toes and trips on his own feet, Minseok is precise and skilled. Every step is exact, counted in the right time, and natural. Sehun feels like the fool dancing with the doctor, looking away from the man's eyes just to trip over his own feet and flush even further. His heart is beating like a drum, fast and furious like the drums of the spring festivals. And Maybe if Minseok were to undress the bandages from his chest, his heart may leap through the gap.  
  
When he tries to look away once more, he finds himself so close to Minseok. Their lips are only centimeters away. He could do it, he thinks. He could kiss Minseok's pretty pink lips right now. He could do it in front of the entire crew without any regrets.  
  
(Maybe he did have too much alcohol.)  
  
"Sehun, do you need a break?"  
  
The chance slips through his fingers instantly. His heart flops solemnly in his chest, wounded.  
  
He can't dance for much longer anyway so he takes Minseok's offer and sets on watching the rest of the crew dance while he rests. His legs have begun to feel weak after only a few rounds and his head had begun to spin. Minseok is attentive, he knows when it's time to stop and lead him back. Minseok always picks up on the smallest bits of his emotions. Since when had he become an open book?  
  
For once, he wishes Minseok would've guessed correctly. That no, Sehun didn't need a break, he just needed him. He wasn't physically tired, he was mentally tired of pining over someone who may never take the blinds from his eyes and see what's before him.  
  
Maybe someday, Minseok will truly understand how he feels.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
After the festival celebrations, Sehun spends his days working his strength back up. Minseok and Tao take turns training him, making him lift empty crates or going back to climbing the masts. It is harder than he could've imagined, and he's reduced to a breathless mass of limbs, spread-eagle on the deck by the time he's finished only half of the training for the day.  
  
"Come now, Sehun! This is nothing!" Tao chastises, rubbing Sehun's back harshly when the younger goes into a coughing fit, pounding at his chest for it to pass. With dismay, he thinks, it may take an eternity for him to even be able to reach the strength he used to have- especially now that his wound has barely scarred over. Minseok had warned him that though the wound was clear of infection, it didn't mean that Sehun wouldn't fall ill again because of it.  
  
And though Sehun has been returned to the deck and his appointments with Minseok are less frequent, the doctor seems to be in and out of the dorms, often when Suho isn't on deck.  
  
Though he doesn't have much time to wonder on why his heart is acting so strange. Tao shoves a pail of water in his face and counts down a minute before they are to begin training again. All he can do is moan in complaint.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
There's another raid on an Earth Nation ship and Sehun is left behind, he's put in charge of the hold as the last line of defense. While Sehun is used to this, though not recently, he isn't used to Suho staying behind as well.  
  
Suho watches his crew board the small cargo ship, heel of his palm pressed to his chest and face twisted in a grimace. Sehun watches Minseok board before he disappears into the ship, heading for the hold. He spends the time alone, alert, picking at his bandage until Chanyeol is sent to fetch him, a wide grin on his face and promises of fruit that they'd taken.  
  
He's glad to have returned to routine, spending time during the sunset high above the deck. Though anxiety had found itself nestled in his chest whenever he sits among the sails, it is easy enough to suppress. The steady adrenaline rush is welcomed once more.  
  
"Is there room for one more?"  
  
Sehun doesn't have to look down to know it's Minseok. His heart stutters in his chest and his apple nearly falls from his hand before he's even looked down.  
  
"O-Of course, doctor," Sehun says even before Minseok hears. The doctor is already climbing up the mast and settling into the spot next to him with an apple of his own. He smiles softly, taking a bite and using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe at the juice at the corner of his lips.  
  
"I think formalities are no longer needed, Sehun. You've thrown up at my feet and we've shared a ballroom dance. I think we're past that stage."  
  
Sehun tries not to choke around his apple, clenching it tighter in his fist. He swallows thickly as Minseok takes a bite of his apple.  
  
"Nice isn't it?" Minseok asks, eyes watching the sparkling water as the sun sets behind them. The water glistens in illuminated oranges and yellows, reflection twinkling back in Minseok's eyes and it's stunning, truly stunning.  
  
"This is my favorite part of being aboard," Sehun murmurs around his apple, snapping a bite and wiping the juice on his sleeve. "Rarely anyone climbs up here, and it's nice to enjoy the sunset like this."  
  
Minseok chuckles, sparkling eyes meeting Sehun's and lips pulling in a small, crooked smile. "Keeping all the nice secrets for yourself, are you?"  
  
Sehun's heart stutters, jumping up to his throat. "N-Not at all! It's just no one comes up here anyway."  
  
Minseok's hum of affirmation is the last sound that passes between them. Sehun gets nervous as the silence grows, palms sweating and butterflies fluttering in his stomach. But Minseok doesn't seem to notice and stares more intently into the ocean, eyes falling more solemn as the time passes. His hand subtly drops to the star figurine in his pocket, fingers tracing the tips of the star that peek from his pocket with a sad smile on his face.  
  
Someone so beautiful doesn't deserve the pain of bearing memories, Sehun thinks. Sometimes, he's sure he looks the same.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Every day afterwards, even after the fruit has gone bad and is thrown overboard, Sehun spends the evenings in the masts with Minseok by his side. He hasn't even done this sort of thing with Chanyeol- at least not since Sehun could climb the masts.  
  
But with Minseok, time is spent quietly. The doctor is soft-spoken, and Sehun knows he'd rather watch the sunset in peace.  
  
(Even if Minseok's peace seems to be riddled with an ache set deep in his heart.)  
  
And one day, Sehun decides he'll ask about the star charm Minseok carries. However, Minseok cuts the silence before him.  
  
"Sehun, when you were still ill, you woke up from a hallucination. Do you remember that?"  
  
He purses his lips and thinks back. Nothing comes to mind no matter how hard he tries to remember.  
  
"You mentioned your brother."  
  
Everything freezes- his fingers in their grip on his wood, his heart beating furiously in his chest, his exhale. "D-Did I?" He asks weakly, nervously licking his lips. He wipes his palms on his trousers.  
  
"You were having hallucinations of your brother's-"  
  
"Minseok!" Sehun exhales shakily, hands wrung tight in the cloth of his trousers. "Please… can we- I'm not… I'm not ready to talk about it."  
  
Minseok's expression is solemn, concerned, and Sehun expects to see pity. But he doesn't. He can't understand why there isn't pity because everyone else's gaze is filled with it when they know.  
  
"I will just tell you about myself first then," the doctor says, finger reaching for the star shaped charm dangling from his pocket. He sighs, eyes filling with apprehension.  
  
"Do you know what this is, Sehun?"  
  
Sehun shakes his head. The star charm is made of clay, painted in the yellow of sunflowers. Two green leaves extend from the top and a small face is painted onto the star.  
  
"Where I grew up, this is kind of like a good luck charm," Minseok starts, glancing out to the ocean. "My sister, just before she had been killed, had given this to me. I was old enough to fight, old enough to protect her, and in the end I couldn't- not when I was fighting trained Fire Nation soldiers that had attacked our town."  
  
Sehun wants to reach out, comfort Minseok because it's hitting too close to home for him. But his hands are sticky with sweat so he keeps them at his side, wishing he could send comfort in other ways.  
  
"But we had this myth. This, Sehun, is a paopu fruit charm," he says, holding up the charm so that it glistens dully in the setting sun. "The myth goes that if two people share the fruit, their destinies become intertwined."  
  
Minseok chuckles soullessly, voice void of any emotion. "Dumb, isn't it? It is a child's myth, but my sister believed in it with all her heart."  
  
Sehun swallows. "Do you miss her?"  
  
Another soulless chuckle. "Every day," he whispers, clenching the star charm tight in his fist. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't miss her, that I panic because I'm forgetting her, that I wish I had been stronger back then to protect her. But there isn't anything I can do about the past," he sighs. "After she died I joined the Earth Nation's army for a while until I'd learned enough medicine to leave. But now, I can only protect the things of my future."  
  
"And besides, Suho is like a brother to me- we were childhood friends and for a while, he'd made a huge deal of wanting to marry my sister." Minseok smiles genuinely, running his thumb over the smiling face of the charm. "Suho has made this ship my home- and it's the best home I've had since I left the Earth Nation," he says, already setting his grip to climb down the mast. "I'm going to treasure what I have now before it's gone."  
  
Sehun stays at the mast long after Minseok has left, wishing that the tears brimming at his eyes would disappear.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
He barely gets any sleep in the next week, nearly slips from the sails and drops half the things that come into his hands on more than one occasion. He's tired of keeping everything bottled up, of keeping the burden to himself, that he starts talking before Minseok has even sat down beside him.  
  
"I did have a brother," he stutters, knuckles white around the grip of his shirt. "Dead, obviously."  
  
Minseok doesn't say a word and instead, pats his knee comfortingly with a small smile on his face.  
  
"He used to-" Sehun exhales shakily, swallowing around the lump in his throat, "he used to sacrifice his meals for me when it was just us on the streets. Even though I could never steal much, he always gave me a share of his food. No matter how much I bickered with him, he always forgave me. No matter how much I tried to get him to think of himself, he never listened."  
  
He sniffles dryly, rubbing at his eyes. "He never told me he got involved with the adult gamblers on the streets just to get money to buy food. I still don't know what he was doing, but does it really matter?" His voice cracks. Pitiful, he thinks. "He got into a fight over money and was stabbed. And I held him as he died in my arms."  
  
And that's when the sadness comes pouring over him. The nightmares are too much, the memories are too burdensome. He's long since forgiven and moved on, but it seems like he can't ever escape the ghostly feelings that plague the nerves in his body.  
  
The first tear falls and he's quick to wipe it away. However, Minseok wipes away the next, the warm pad of his thumb catching the tear before it rolls down his cheek. Sehun, embarrassed, ducks to hide his face but Minseok catches his cheek and pulls him down to his shoulder.  
  
Sehun's shoulders heave and shudder as he tries to hold back the tears. He's done crying- he's been done. And yet, Minseok is comforting. Minseok understands. Minseok wants to share the burden and that spurs a few more tears from his eyes.  
  
"I'm okay," Sehun murmurs, lips muffled against the doctor's shoulder. Minseok doesn't let up on his grip, fingers running through Sehun's hair.  
  
"I know you're okay," he says. He pulls away enough for Sehun to meet his gaze. "You have made it this far, Sehun. I am sure your brother would be proud of you."  
  
And Minseok is there to catch the last few tears that fall.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Afterwards, Sehun feels extremely exposed, like anyone could read his mind should he simply stand still before him. He'd spilled all his secrets and now it was like he had nothing to hide, nothing to protect himself with. It's unnerving and it makes him absolutely jittery, especially when Minseok is around.  
  
When it comes time to change his bandages, he finds himself unbelievably nervous. His palms are sweating so much that no matter how many times he wipes them on his trousers, they never seem to stop sweating. His hand is trembling as it rests on the doorknob, he stands there frozen and panicked.  
  
The door opens before him and Suho steps from Minseok's room, sparing a smile before he disappears into his own room just next door.  
  
"Ah, Sehun, come in!" Minseok says, unwinding the stethoscope from around his neck. Sehun takes a seat on the bunk and shyly sheds his shirt.  
  
The nervousness comes bubbling back. Just the thought of confessing to Minseok, now that he'd stripped himself bare for the medic, is more unnerving than anything he's ever had to do. But there are always the huge doubts clouding his mind as to how Minseok would react should he ever gain the courage to confess.  
  
"I'll start changing your bandages," Minseok says, sitting so close to Sehun on the bunk that their knees bump together. Sehun tries to keep his eyes anywhere, away from the way Minseok's thin fingers tug and unwind the bandage to the way Minseok's warm breath feels on his neck when he leans in close. Sehun's heart is beating triple time, ready to take flight.  
  
Sehun works up the courage to confess. He'd laid his heart out before Minseok and this is the only thing he had left to say. Sehun knows that this could be the make or break between them, that this could potentially ruin them both and every bad scenario he's ever dreamed of could come true. He's getting tired of his heart knotting itself and beating against his ribcage.  
  
But when his wound has been dressed again, Minseok informs him once more that he could change his bandages himself and doesn't necessarily have to let Minseok be the one to change the bandages. And Sehun flushes, apparent as red colors his chest to his cheeks, and the courage he'd built up for himself disappears instantly.  
  
He's quick out of the room, slapping his cheeks and berating himself for how much dumber he could be. Was that too obvious? But Minseok was still happy to dress the wound, does that mean Minseok returns some of the feelings? Does he have a chance?  
  
Maybe not, he muses, when he finds himself meeting the deck floor after tripping over Luhan's outstretched auto-mail. He doesn't even want to get up; he'd be mortified if Minseok saw him.  
  
What are his chances of becoming one with the deck within ten seconds?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sehun does what he could've never imagined he'd do. He asks for Chanyeol's advice.  
  
"You just need some courage," he says, reaching under the mattress of his top bunk and pulls out a bottle of beer. "I've saved this bottle just for you."  
  
Wary, Sehun looks at the bottle as though it were poison. "But, you know I can't take alcohol well," he whispers, embarrassed.  
  
"Exactly," Chanyeol says, a gleam in his eyes and beaming his excited smile. He takes the beer bottle and opens it, thrusting it back into Sehun's hands. "Just trust me, drink."  
  
And so he does. Chanyeol looks on eagerly as he tips his head back and chugs all of the beer. Halfway through he almost spits it back out but Chanyeol is still cheering him on, pushing the bottle back into his hands and telling him anything to push him on.  
  
It takes more than one beer bottle for him to get drunk enough to lose all his thoughts. Chanyeol has to sneak down to the kitchens to grab another, but Sehun only makes it halfway through that bottle. He's just drunk enough to walk without falling but enough to forget all his worries.  
  
Chanyeol steers him to the deck, helping him up through the stairs and pushing him through the door outside the dorms. Sehun stumbles when he's pushed into the frigid air of the night, but by the time he turns around, Chanyeol has already disappeared.  
  
"Sehun?"  
  
It was Minseok's shift for patrol and had probably been alerted by the noise they were making trying to get up the stairs.  
  
Sehun takes this as the perfect chance. He marches over to the doctor, cups the man's cheeks in his palms, and kisses him full on the mouth, sloppy and overconfident.  
  
"Kim Doctor Minseok," he proclaims, chest puffed out and hands still cupping the doctor's cheeks. "I think I am in love with you."  
  
Silence falls on them, and for that moment, doubt enters his mind. What if he isn't drunk enough to do this? He should be drunk enough that he should forget all of this when he wakes up tomorrow morning should he be rejected.  
  
But Minseok is smiling. That's a good sign, right? Minseok looks so attractive with the sleeves of his collared shirt rolled up to his elbows.  
  
Minseok cups his cheeks instead and looks into his eyes. "How about you ask me when you're not drunk?"  
  
Sehun swallows thickly, pulling away, and making a run back for his room trying not to stumble over his own feet, which proves to be a challenge in itself. He failed, he'd been rejected. Chanyeol's plan had failed horribly.  
  
"Tell Chanyeol not to get you drunk again!"  
  
He slams the door, a flush coloring his cheeks, knocking his fist against his head and hoping he doesn't look as stupid as he feels.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sehun's next plan is avoidance. And it works for only four days until the captain orders him to go have Minseok change his bandages.  
  
Had he gotten some of his own bandages, he could've avoided Minseok for a little longer.  
  
He's more nervous than ever, praying his heart won't jump from his throat when he opens the door with a creak and stepping quietly into the room.  
  
Minseok doesn't say anything, he simply avoids Sehun by aimlessly digging through his bag so as to not meet glances.  
  
Sehun takes a seat on the bed, twiddling his thumbs in his lap. An awkward silence falls upon the room and he doesn't know how much of it he can take.  
  
The doctor doesn't even look at him when he ushers Sehun to remove his shirt. He doesn't say a word, only working in silence to change the bandages. Sehun swallows thickly, wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers. Maybe he should've taken just a little alcohol to make him bolder.  
  
"Minseok," he stutters. "About that night…"  
  
Minseok finally meets his gaze, expression still stoic. Sehun takes in a deep breath, winding his fist in his shirt.  
  
"I meant what I said," he starts, still mortified enough to avoid Minseok's gaze. "I think I do like you, and I want to try. It must be weird for you, and it's kind of weird for me too, but I really want to give it a shot. I'll understand if you think differently."  
  
Minseok doesn't say anything, and that makes Sehun nervous again. Did he really mess this up?  
  
He's almost ready to bolt out the door when Minseok lays a gentle hand on his jaw and pulls him in close, kissing him chastely on the lips. Sehun's heart leaps.  
  
"Pirates don't have rules, right? It is weird, but I'll give it a shot."  
  
In his happiness, Sehun jumps from his spot and pulls Minseok into his arms, kissing him on the cheek, thanking him profusely, and then bursting from the room, running to Chanyeol. He drags his friend back into the dorms to scream in his face about The Best Thing That Has Ever Happened To Him.  
  
He can't wipe the widest smile he's ever had from his face. It makes his cheeks hurt by the end of the day, but he finds it well worth the pain when it makes his heart light and warm in his chest.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
By Lay's calculations, they should reach the Terre, the last Earth Nation City, within half of a moon cycle. It brings excitement to the ship- a chance to step away to the life on land. Baekhyun and Chen show the most excitement and oddly enough, Suho the least.  
  
Suho distances himself aboard the ship. If he's out during the day, he's leaning against the side of the ship, watching the ocean pass by. He starts conversations with Luhan, Lay, and Minseok only. And from Sehun's room next door, he can hear Suho's horrid coughs during the night through the thin walls. He figures maybe Suho had caught a bug, which explains why Minseok hangs off him like a shadow more and more. His color fades as does the strength set in his shoulders.  
  
Sehun wonders, but doesn't spend long wondering. Training has begun again, now that they are nearing the Fountain of Youth. And now, he's improving. With the practice he gets, Tao drilling him like a soldier, he has surpassed Chanyeol's level and is finally able to put the wooden sword to his friend's throat.  
  
"I've been waiting for this day!" Chanyeol laughs breathlessly, sweat clinging to the bangs plastered to his forehead. "It's about time you beat me at something!"  
  
Sehun pushes Chanyeol's shoulder back, smile wide on his lips. "Just you wait, I'll be sure to pummel you worse next time."  
  
"Minseok!" comes Luhan's sudden, panicked shout, piercing and fearful. Luhan is never fearful.  
  
Minseok bounds across the deck to where Luhan is crouched next to Suho. The captain's hand is fisted in his shirt, knuckles white as he twists the fabric over his heart, face pulled tight in a painful grimace. He's supported heavily by Luhan, looking weak enough that he may collapse should he stay standing for too long. His skin is a sickly pallor, eyes rimmed with red and dull.  
  
The doctor pulls a syringe from his pocket, shouting at Chen to fetch a crate and for Lay to grab a pail of water. Once Suho is eased onto the crate and the pail has been brought, Minseok pulls out Suho's arm and injects the syringe near the captain's shoulder. He brings a cup of water to Suho's lips, begging the captain to drink to ease the heat from his body.  
  
The crew sits in apprehension as the grimace fades from Suho's face, leaving him more visibly weary than before. Sehun's almost sure he'd stopped breathing before a little color had returned to Suho's face.  
  
A beat of silence passes before Luhan speaks. "Care to explain, captain?"  
  
Suho meets the eyes of every crew remember, and Sehun finds a tired sadness there, something uncharacteristic of the strong captain he has served under. "Minseok?" the captain pants, hand still clutched at his shirt.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
The captain nods, fingers slowly unwinding from his shirt.  
  
"This is my personal reason for getting to the Fountain of Youth," he starts, gaze plastered to the floor. "My heart has always been weak. I brought Minseok, my childhood friend of many years, aboard to help me treat it temporarily. But the medicines can only do so much and with each passing day, I grow weaker. The Fountain is my only hope."  
  
Sehun feels his stomach churn, nausea dropping like a bomb in the pit of his stomach.  
  
"And I hope," Suho says, staggering as he attempts to stand to his full height again, leaning on Luhan's shoulder, "you will stay by my side until we reach the Fountain- whether I make it there alive or otherwise."  
  
The ship falls to silence, only the waves lapping against the side of the boat can be heard.  
  
"Captain," Luhan says, a fierce fire in his eyes. "You are a blithering idiot for even thinking that you could not trust this secret to your crew."  
  
Sheepish, Suho looks down before Luhan continues. "You are such a bastard for even thinking that we would ever consider leaving your side. You are our captain. That will never change."  
  
The gentle smile returns to Suho's face with the hollers of the crew, patting him on the back or slinging an arm around his shoulder, praising their captain for all that he's done. Teasing him for finally showing some humanity.  
  
Everyone is confident for the rest of their journey to the Fountain of Youth, for what could stop an unbreakable, invincible crew such as theirs?  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

  
  
  
Their stop in the Earth Nation is for Minseok to pick up more medications for the captain, and it soon becomes blatantly obvious that the stop is needed. Suho is put to strict bed rest three days before their arrival, stamina so easily drained that he'd nearly collapsed on deck. He drains through his pills like water, head thrown back and neck bared like a wolf in submission with every pang in his chest that he feels.  
  
It is heartrending to watch. And though every member aboard has experienced death near to them, it is all the more painful- to each and every one of them- with their own captain.  
  
Once the ship docks and preparations are set, Minseok grabs Sehun by the hand, bright eyed and an eager smile dimpling his cheeks, and drags him to the docks. The Earth Nation is all new land to Sehun, and he feels like a child wandering through a candy shop with a pocket full of change as Minseok drags him along. He hasn't even felt the way his chest used to constrict when he’d step foot on land; how could he when Minseok's melodic, light laughter is as enticing as the ocean is to him.  
  
Terre is a city unlike any Sehun has seen before. The city is bustling with people, children giggling as they run through the streets and adults pleasantly chattering amongst themselves in the market street. And though the city streets aren't lined in gold and the cottages aren't plated with silver, there is no grime on the streets or wiped on the cheeks of the children nor the clothes of the adults. Even the sellers in the marketplace have swept away any dirt around their stalls.  
  
Minseok pulls him through the streets as he tries to take in the sights. Anxiety tells him to look for the kids huddled in dark alley corners or living in the shadows- he always spends a few gold coins in the market for them. Whether they are well hidden from view or the city has a way to house them, Sehun doesn't see a single one lurking in corners or hiding behind shop garbages.  
  
He stumbles when Minseok pulls him into a small alley between market stalls. It's empty, noise from the street muted. A blue ball rolls past his feet, followed by a few small girls in light green dresses that bump into his legs, pushing him until he's only a few breaths away from Minseok's face.  
  
His hand chafes against the concrete wall, breath quickening as he feels Minseok pull him in. His heart stutters as Minseok presses their lips together, chaste, looking around the corner afterwards to keep a secret all their own. He knows Minseok is trying this for him, that he wants this more than anything. It makes him flush to the tip of his ears as the doctor whispers lowly in his ear, beckoning him back out into the street.  
  
Sehun is embarrassed, dragged through the market like a rag doll as Minseok makes purchases of leaves with names he could never learn from street vendors and bottles of concoctions from the (precarious) apothecary, to which he pushes into Sehun's arms with a bright smile that flashes his gums.  
  
"Wait outside," Minseok whispers, pressing his lips to Sehun's cheek. "This is our last stop, I promise."  
  
And Sehun, flustered, can do no more than wait with his rapid fire heart beating in his ears and a smile etched onto his face, hoping in the back of his mind that Minseok finish soon lest his arms fall from his body with the weight of the medicines.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
They only spend a few days in Terre; there isn't a need to stay long. Winds are favorable and by Lay's calculations, there is not a storm within weeks. And the sooner they reach the fountain, the sooner the captain can be fully healed.  
  
They're back on the sea, navigation team hunched over the tables once more with Suho's maps and data journals spread over all three tables. The largest, most detailed map is the most difficult to decipher with the tears and dirt riddled throughout the map, and the constant bickering has proven as such. But it hasn't stopped the crew's determination. Everyone trains harder now that they are getting closer to the first obstacle. Kyungsoo predicts an encounter is sure to happen within two weeks time.  
  
Sehun lands on his back, breath knocked out of his lungs and scar stinging as the skin pulls tighter and a wooden sword is pointed to his neck.  
  
"Better luck next time, Sehun," Minseok teases, lips pulling back in a crooked smile. Sehun wishes he could admit his loss due to the doctor being his largest distraction, muscles rippling under taught skin, sweat sliding down the pale column of his neck with every brandish of his sword. Sadly, he can't. His skill has yet to be improved to pin down the doctor.  
  
"I'll have you one day," he says when he catches his breath. Minseok helps him up so fast his vision blackens for a moment and he stumbles, just slightly dizzy.  
  
He catches Baekhyun watching from the corner of his eye just before the elder pounces on his back and puts him in a headlock. "You little scoundrel!" he whines, running his knuckle roughly through Sehun's hair until the younger is pleading mercy for him to stop. "You think you could hide this from me! I know you better than that, kid!"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Minseok just watches, trying to hide his laughter behind his hand. Sehun can't help but flush, beckoning more teasing by Baekhyun.  
  
"Settle down, kids," Luhan chides, pulling out a crate and plopping down on it. "We're going over the plan."  
  
Everyone gathers around Luhan almost immediately. Even Minseok hangs around the back of the group despite Suho having ducked back into his quarters. Lay is the last to join the crew, standing next to Luhan with the map open and path clearly marked in red.  
  
"By the legends, we're supposed to encounter the Undead Pirates before we reach the island. The battle is meant to dissuade us from the island, make us lose our way and spread fear among us," Luhan starts, tapping his foot against the deck. "Kai is not a pirate captain easily dealt with."  
  
"From the testimonies Suho's collected," Kyungsoo continues, "the size of Kai's crew is unknown. Numbers vary so widely that it is difficult to get a count, but the only information every testimony provides is that any ghostly sailor disappears by a stab to the heart."  
  
Kyungsoo pauses, glancing apprehensively at the crew. "Should the ghostly sword wielded touch you instead, death infects that very spot. How fast it spreads, if it spreads, is something no one has stayed around long enough to know."  
  
Waves lap against the side of the boat in an unsteady tempo, sound weak against the sails flapping in the wind. The tension builds amongst the crew, but just as always, Baekhyun has never been one for silences.  
  
"So we'll do it," he cheers, voice softer than the sails. "We're Death's crew, are we not?"  
  
"For our captain," Chen pitches, eyes gleaming with excitement and adrenaline. "For Suho."  
  
And the silence dissipates steadily like the rain, filling with the joyous cheers and encouraging slaps to the back that even Suho catches wind of from his room. Sehun is quieter amongst the group, hanging around the fringe of the commotion.  
  
Forever is a dream, he thinks. To live forever is some ethereal, intangible dream that floats above their heads like a cloud. Maybe it's a little insane, diving headfirst into a legend, but it's a desperate shot in the dark.  
  
And they all know, from the way Suho tires easily, loses his breath like he were a hundred years old, that this is desperation.  
  
Sehun understands it, a will to do anything so long as it fixes something. He knows, just as they all do, the chest constricting will of wanting to live.  
  
He had only ever once believed in a god, once upon a time. And with the life that he's lived, he surely doesn't believe in one any longer. But he can only hope with the short prayer he sends, as Chanyeol smiles so widely his cheeks look fit to burst and as Lay laughs so hard tears stream from his eyes, that something listens- that anything eases their path.  
  
Because this path is the most treacherous any of them have yet to set foot upon.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The days are inching closer together, apprehension and adrenaline running high on the ship as everyone trains. Everyone battles one another, training until their legs begin to numb and their lungs burn like fire roaring on the inside, scarring. They sharpen their swords and reload their guns in the downtime between work and food, only taking a few moments for break within the day.  
  
It can't be much longer- not with the way the clouds are slowly darkening with each passing day, sky turning from bright blues reflecting the sparkling ocean to muted grays of the grime Sehun knows. Each passing day beckons rougher waters, larger waves, and colder, stronger winds. His wound itches with each battering wind, skin pulling tight over the scab and stinging with the salt water splashing through his clothes. The phantom pains have begun as well, just as Minseok had predicted, and he's back on regular medication and salves to dull it.  
  
And with every passing day, Suho grows weaker. It brings the mood low, tempers thin amidst the anxiety bubbling on the ship. But no one lashes out, no one loses their senses though the air is so saturated with fear and restlessness that it seems one slip of the tongue could lead to a breakout on the ship.  
  
Sehun feels the edge, feels the ache of fear deep in his bones, wringing tight in his chest and chilling the blood in his veins. He knows it's hard for everyone. It is hard on him.  
  
So when it's his turn for night duty, he sneaks a bit of beer from the kitchens, hiding the bottle under his shirt until he was positive Kyungsoo hadn't noticed. He had stashed it under his bunk until he was sure the crew had gone to sleep and Luhan, who had just finished his shift, had ducked into his dorm room.  
  
The sea winds are calmer at night. It's a little terrifying to look out into the ocean and not see a thing but darkness. Where he knows there are miles upon miles of ocean, there is only an infinite blackness that feels though it could swallow him whole.  
  
He tries to drain the bottle, dipping his head back until the bottle is wrenched from his hand.  
  
Suho takes a swig, cringing from the aftertaste burning in his throat.  
  
"But, captain-" Sehun stutters, hands shaking almost unnoticeably as he reaches for the bottle- and Suho turns away, taking down another swig.  
  
"You shouldn't deny a dying man his wishes, kid," he says, a bright twinkle in his eye that sparkles in the darkness, a flash of mirth that Sehun had missed in the captain's eyes. He can't help the small smile that crosses his face.  
  
And there is not a single word of conversation spoken. Everything is said between passes of the beer.  
  
_I'm a little afraid.  
  
I'm becoming desperate. I need this to work.  
  
I'm not ready for death.  
  
Neither am I._  
  
The darkness of the night covers the sparkle of daybreak peeking through.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
As much as the crew would like to deny, they have entered Kai's seas now.  
  
It becomes obvious when Baekhyun's boisterous demeanor seems like a foghorn blasting next to their ears, beckoning attention from miles away. Chen's musical laughter is like a deaf man slamming keys on a piano, loud and cacophonous in the thickening tension. Even Chanyeol's joyous smiles are out of place, unsure and weary.  
  
Sehun gets pulled over to the side, a star placed into his palm.  
  
"I want you to have this," Minseok whispers, lips pressed just under his jaw. "Maybe you will believe in destiny more than I do."  
  
He does believe. Maybe he truly is just a kid- a naive child. But he presses his lips to Minseok to let him know that he does believe, that they'll be okay- everything will be fine in the end.  
  
"Captain!" Lay calls from the upper deck, map clenched tight in his fist. We'll be approaching the island soon."  
  
"Get us in closer! We'll dock and row to shore," Suho says, wiping down his sword almost nervously. He pats down his coat, making sure he hears pills rattling against the glass of the container and it calms him almost instantly.  
  
The waves are growing more treacherous, winds growing more furious, taking control of the ship. It's like the beginnings of a thunderstorm upon the seas but no rain, no thunder, and no lightning. There is only an unending darkness.  
  
Sehun helps toss out the first anchor, muscles burning with the weight as he throws it overboard. Chanyeol pats him on the back before helping Chen lower the second anchor. The rowboat is already being lowered and the final few preparations for landing are being made.  
  
Amidst the chaos, when Sehun takes a step back to breathe and remember the crew with smiles upon their faces, smoke forms in midair. He watches with bated breath as the smoke swirls in the air, growing and pulsing until it starts to take the form of a man.  
  
"Luhan! Behind you!" he shouts, just in time for Luhan to brandish his sword to a sailor of smoke, floating in the air. He reacts on instinct, puncturing the smoke right through the center and the ghostly figure freezes, just before it dissipates without a trace.  
  
The barrage of ghost pirates begins, the air surrounding the ship turning from fog to men. The ghosts are only discernible above the waist, smoky swords glistening in the sudden moonlight that peeks through the clouds.  
  
There is only one full body that forms, and it is obvious it is Captain Kai, standing tall and unafraid before Suho.  
  
"Leave!" Kai bellows, sudden torrent of waves rocking the boat. He is regally dressed in his ghostly form, gleaming silver swords strapped to his sides and shiny, colorless gems sewn to his coat. His eyes are the only color present- a gleaming blood red that sends chills through Sehun's spine.  
  
Suho doesn't back down. He draws his sword, smirk upon his face. He strikes, and Kai easily blocks his attack, but it signals the ghost pirates surrounding the ship to charge to battle, withdraw blades of smoke that shine with danger.  
  
Sehun doesn't know for sure how many there are, maybe around three dozen at least, and he doesn't have enough time to count when the first pirate swings at him.  
  
It is similar to fighting air. Anywhere Sehun lands a hit that isn't the heart, the air simply molds around his blade and does no damage to the ghostly sailor. But with a quick duck under the sailor's blade, he manages to puncture through the pirate's chest, the only time it has felt like sinking his sword into a real person. The sailor disappears.  
  
Two come at him next, attacking from opposite sides and he barely has time to duck before a blade almost skims his shoulder. Once he's gotten the first of the two sailors gone, it will be easier to be rid of the second.  
  
The ship is in chaos, and there isn't a second to spare to survey the damage but the grunts of battle can be heard ringing throughout the ship. In short bursts of breaks, he catches Suho battling Kai with all his might, they are as evenly matched as possible and it is apparent Suho is struggling with his weak heart.  
  
Another battle later and he's growing tired, he knows this. He slips and the ghost's sword slices his clothes, burning and disintegrating instantaneously. It is enough to give him energy to finish the ghost off, blade sinking slow and torturous through the heart.  
  
The sound of metal being crushed blares on deck, and Sehun glances at the upper deck to find Luhan's prosthetic leg caught in the grasp of a burly ghost pirate, being twisted in the pirate's hands as though it were wet clay. Luhan's teeth are clenched, fighting back a scream as his nerves fire off and pain starts to register. He draws his sword as quickly as he can and finishes the pirate off before collapsing, a scream finally making it past his lips as he weakly cradles the remains of his leg.  
  
A sword whizzes past his ear, and Sehun jolts, drawing his blade and blocking the next downswing. Now is not the time to be distracted. He knows Minseok will take care of it, and Luhan isn't first mate by his pretty face.  
  
The battle soon begins winding down, but Kai has yet to be defeated. Suho looks so tired, pale and sickly like his heart could give any second and he would collapse with Kai's sword pointed right at his dying heart. Sehun is ready to back up his captain when another scream pierces the sounds of battle, raw and heart wrenching.  
  
Sehun frantically looks for it. It isn't Chanyeol or Chen, Lay or Tao.  
  
It's Baekhyun, gripping at the deep gash in his shoulder. Black leaks past his fingers, his head thrown back in pain and his eyes clamped shut. His sword has been strewn across the deck.  
  
Sehun goes to help, even though he could throw up his heart from the anxiety. He takes down the pirate with a struggle; it is hard to focus when Baekhyun is screaming in raw agony, more black crawling down his arm. The skin flakes and falls away with a puff of the wind. He bleeds black and his skin crusts in black, slowly shriveling away. Sehun sinks his blade into the ghost pirate's chest, heaving a sigh of relief.  
  
"Minseok!" he screams, frantic, searching for the doctor amidst the chaos and praying to feel the star fruit charm still in his pocket. When he sees the doctor approaching, he knows he has to leave. He has to finish the battle; he cannot afford to be distracted.  
  
The ghost pirates are dwindling, and everyone who can is locked in battle with three pirates at the most. Sehun heads back for Suho, hoping to sneak up behind Kai with his sword poised to strike.  
  
But Kai knows, he's a fighter as strong as Suho and blocks the attack, a wide, sickening smile twisted on his lips.  
  
"What did you think you could do, runt?" he sneers, red eyes gleaming in bloodlust. "You're just a rat, are you not? A mouse, better yet! I've been a pirate for thousands of years, murdered thousands of sailors and pirates alike, what did you think you could do against me!?"  
  
Sehun swings, barely knocking Kai back. He swings and Kai dodges, attempting to catch him in the side while he's vulnerable. He dodges, drawing the battle farther away from Suho in hopes of giving the captain a break.  
  
"What could a child like you do?!" Kai cackles, sound like the crunch of bones. He swings his sword wildly and Sehun truly feels fear. It freezes in his veins, locking his hands around the hilt of his blade and he fills his joints stiffening in protest to the panic flooding his head, telling him to move, move, _move_.  
  
He's ready to bite out words, but he doesn't see Kai's blade coming. It takes him by surprise, the gleam of a silver blade is all he catches in his peripheral vision before it becomes pitch black and he's fallen sword knocked out of his hand.  
  
He thinks he's screaming, pain slowly sinking in and it burns and it feels like his eye and cut skin of his cheek and forehead bleeds slowly but it isn't. His palms are pressed to his left eye, anything to relieve the fire burning hot and his screams of agony.  
  
Tao catches Kai from behind, finally finishing him off with a stab through his heart. The pirate screams just before he dissipates with a fizz resounding in the air.  
  
The pain is sinking in too fast, his adrenaline is running low and he's really trying to hold back his screams- he can't distract the others from fighting the few straggling pirates. But he pulls his hands away from his eye briefly, watching dumbly as the skin flakes black in his hand. Dead.  
  
"Sehun! Sehun!" Minseok is shouting at him, in front of him and close but he's only got one eye to see and things are blurry with the haze of pain. He tries to keep calm, hiccuping sobs dissolving a little at a time (when had he begun to sob?). "Sehun! Keep it together!"  
  
He's trying, he's trying so hard to keep it together but even his old scar burns across his chest as the pain flickers in his eye, searing like a hot branding wand freshly pulled from the fire. Minseok squeezes his shoulder, muttering things like apologies that he can't really comprehend. He wishes Minseok wouldn't say anymore.  
  
He's given two pills to swallow; it's hard when he's still crying, throat torn and raw. Minseok looks at him with pleading eyes, hoping to calm down and reassure him that the worst of it will be over soon.  
  
He isn't sure how soon because this feels like an eternal hellfire. But he'd believe anything for Minseok  
  
The pain is dulled and he's almost instantly sleepy, limbs weak and he'd just about lolled off but someone catches him. It feels like Chanyeol holding him steady. He can't see Chanyeol, but Lay is the one who approaches him, small carving knife in one hand and a jar of paste in the other.  
  
He tenses when Lay wipes the salve on his eye, but it numbs the pain so well, it's ice to a fire. Lay presses the knife to his face though he can barely feel it with whatever pill is still coursing through him dulling his senses. Lay hushes him, presses a gentle hand to his shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile.  
  
So Sehun sits there, trying not to think how Lay is cutting out the necrosis that has attacked his eye, tries not to glance down and see the pile of black flakes growing in Lay's lap. He knows Minseok is watching and he wants to be strong- he is strong- so he holds his silence and grits his teeth through the process.  
  
When his eye has been salvaged as much as possible, Lay applies another dosage of the salve that goes on thick. It's bandaged, but he's still in a daze, leaning fully against Chanyeol. He isn't sure if he's ready for the medicine to wear off.  
  
He surveys the damage. Baekhyun has it the worst, wound so infected and widespread that it looks like a better idea to cut his arm off because when the necrosis is cut away, there may be nothing left anyway. Luhan's auto-mail leg is in near shambles, and he's desperately trying to fix what he can until Minseok gets a chance to look at it. Suho is putting up a strong front, he thinks he's hiding his pain better than he is because it is obvious. He seems so sickly green he could faint.  
  
"We can't stay here," Suho says, swallowing back medication and getting to his feet. "We might be safer on the island, now that we've defeated Kai.  
  
It's harder for Sehun to move now- due mostly to the medications and secondly to the sudden loss of some depth perception- and he leans entirely on Chanyeol until he's been lowered into the rowboat. Baekhyun is helped in after him, teeth grinding in a forced smile. His arm is wrapped as much as possible, and so far he has yet to shed any more black skin. The rest of the crew follows in as Luhan is helped aboard and Minseok has gone back to his room to grab the rest of his supplies.  
  
The ride to shore is a short one, and even though he should feel more terrified now that he's lost half his vision and hasn't had time to train with it, Minseok pressed against his side, hands pressed to his face reassure him.  
  
"Look at what you have gotten yourself into," Minseok softly chides, eyes almost sorrowful as they meet his eye.  
  
Maybe it's the drugs spurring a surge of adrenaline but he presses his lips to the shell of Minseok's ear, voice warm and soft as he whispers. "I am alive, am I not? You will just have to care for me, won't you?"  
  
And at least in a lonely wasteland like this, Minseok's soft laughter, lips pulling to show his gums and cutely crooked teeth, is a welcomed star in the dark night.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Suho continues swallowing more pills as time continues to pass. They had settled on shore and built camp for the night, giving Minseok a chance to fix Luhan's prosthetic as best as he could while the navigation team deliberates on how to proceed.  
  
By the time midnight has fallen, the pills Sehun had taken have long since worn out and only a dull pain returns. It is bearable enough, he knows not to complain when there are others who need more attention than himself. Suho is resting in one tent, Luhan beside him. Both of them had thoroughly worn themselves out. Baekhyun is still in pain, and he doesn't know whether the necrosis is still spreading, but he assumes so. Lay, Tao, and Chen have disappeared into Baekhyun's tent where Minseok is trying to treat him.  
  
A barrage of piercing screams later, everyone leaves the tent slowly, one by one, weary, eyes wide but tired.  
  
He knows he should just go to sleep, but the pain is keeping him awake. They still have one more obstacle to go and Sehun isn't so confident about this anymore- none of them are.  
  
"Hey."  
  
Sehun startles, surprised when Chanyeol takes a spot next to him. Chanyeol looks sheepish for surprising him, for forgetting that he was sitting in his blind spot.  
  
Chanyeol wraps a gentle arm around his waist, resting his head to his shoulder. "You know they ended up amputating Baekhyun's arm, right?"  
  
He had guessed of course. Necrosis to a large area like the arm couldn't be confined like his could. But if he knew Baekhyun, the pirate probably asked for it- begged for Minseok to cut off his arm if he needed because he refused to be dead weight to the team. He would have murmured through the haze of pain with tears glistening in his eyelashes that he was going to do this for himself and for Suho and for his crew, then maybe say something to lighten the mood. "Fighting with one arm will finally put me back to your level," he'd grind out, forcing a painful smile.  
  
"I know," Sehun whispers. His hand is reaching to feel the bandages over his eye, but Chanyeol stops him. He grabs his hand and holds it, squeezing it gently. Sehun turns to meet his friend's gaze, a little surprised.  
  
"Ah, my best friend has two battle scars now. I'll be the one who looks like the baby of the ship," Chanyeol laments, but it's fake. He's trying to pass his feelings off as a joke. Sehun's learned.  
  
What Chanyeol is really upset over is that twice now, he hasn't been there to protect Sehun. For the years on the streets they'd stayed together, Chanyeol had felt like it was his duty. Chanyeol had always been the one to take care of Sehun, be the older brother and do what it took for Sehun to be as happy as he could be.  
  
"It's about time I looked like a real man on this ship," Sehun jokes right back. It gets Chanyeol laughing, and he knows things will be okay then.  
  
"Well if you could bear to be away from your boy-toy, I'd like to share my tent with you," Chanyeol says, standing up and steadying Sehun when he follows suit.  
  
Sehun smirks, and for a moment, he thinks how weird it is to see his best friend through one eye. "Only if I get the better side of the tent." And they're like kids once more, racing each other to the end of the street with prides the size of the ocean and not a single worry.  
  
If taking these two injuries meant Chanyeol didn't have to, then Sehun doesn't mind at all.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
They don't plan on spending a full week in their encampment, only long enough for Suho to rest up and for Baekhyun to get some mobility back. Luhan is still walking, albeit with a heavy limp in his step, but he works with Tao to overcome that, sparring until a numbing pain shoots up his side and he knows he has to stop.  
  
Just before Sehun is sent out to practice, Minseok comes to change his bandages.  
  
"Do I look like a tough pirate yet?" he jokes, wiping his sandy hands on his trousers.  
  
Minseok chuckles at him, hands already working to pull the bandage away. "Not with that pretty face of yours."  
  
He's about to mutter just how much prettier Minseok's face is than his own when the doctor's expression hardens. Minseok grits his teeth and purses his lips together, hoping to hide whatever he's feeling. The bandage has been fully unwound.  
  
"It is not that bad, right?" He's stuttering and suddenly his heart feels like it has lurched up to his throat and he can't swallow.  
  
"It's not," Minseok says, far too quickly. Sehun catches a glimpse of his bandage and all he sees is black streaked along the cloth. It truly sickens him.  
  
"I know, it's disgusting-"  
  
Minseok kisses him, just above his left eyebrow. It's short but the doctor is quick to meet his gaze.  
  
"I don't think any less of you, Sehun," he says, bandages clenched tight in his fist. "You will always be the same to me, whether you are completely blind or have three heads."  
  
His heart flutters, warm and pleasant in his chest. The little paopu fruit charm sits heavy in his pocket. Maybe if destiny and fate decided that this was all pity- that finding someone as wonderful as Minseok was a gift from the years he had suffered, that they had both suffered- then he wouldn't really care.  
  
Because in the end, he'd found a home and a family that was more than he could've dreamed of.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It's definitely a change to see Baekhyun without his arm, but his personality hasn't changed in the least. He's still the same boisterous, cheerful man who didn't care whether it was noon or the middle of the night to talk anyone's ear off. If anything had changed, it was that he made as many "Do you need a hand? Sorry, I've only got one" jokes as he could.  
  
The trek to the fountain passes through a dense forest area, following along a dried rut that probably once held water from the Fountain. Trees stand tall and intimidating with the darkness surrounding the island, animals hide in the shadows and skitter along with bright, beady, small eyes. The dried rut should lead to the cave where the Dark Thorn resides.  
  
Any myth has no true depiction of the beast guarding the Fountain of Youth. Various drawings that Suho had collected show the Dark Thorn as a beast similar to a bear, black in fur but with long, red claws and a fiery orange mane. The depictions are quite wild; however, Sehun doesn't doubt that there resides some similarity. After all, there is always a grain of truth at the center of every myth.  
  
Sehun has never been through a forest. The Water Nation was sparse of any wooded areas, and it's all mildly intriguing to him. He wonders if this is what the Earth Nation is like, if an area like this was close to where Minseok grew up. Or maybe the doctor used to sneak away from home, hand in hand with his sister as they set out to play in the forest until sunset.  
  
"You okay?" Minseok asks, arm wrapped around Sehun's waist. "Your eye's not bothering you?"  
  
"You worry too much, Dr. Kim," Sehun teases. He brings a tentative arm around Minseok's narrow shoulders, bringing the elder closer.  
  
Minseok hums, winding his thinner, smaller fingers in between Sehun's larger ones. A day and a half of trekking through the forest before reaching the beast's cave is what Lay and Chen estimated. The first day had drawn to a close with no hitch, not a single thing denoted of a huge beast living on the island. Even their trek through half a day had gone without a problem, and Sehun wasn't so sure what to make of it.  
  
Surely the beast would come for them. He would just have to hope they would find the beast before the beast found them.  
  
They set out for the cave on the morning of the third day with the mindset that the beast would be easier to battle in daylight. A roar ripples through the forest and the ground subtly trembles under their feet. They are so close, just one more obstacle and they'll have found the Fountain.  
  
Suho beckons them to slink behind trees and shrubbery after the roaring continues, to follow his steps. It's midday and the sun is sweltering, hot enough to feel like it is burning skin.  
  
"Wait!" Kyungsoo calls, halting the crew in their steps. He emerges from the bushes into a clearing just before a cave.  
  
But there's something there- Sehun sees it too. The air moves visibly- like heat waves hovering above the ground on a blisteringly hot day.  
  
"What is that?" Baekhyun nearly shouts if not for Chen's hand that slams over his mouth.  
  
"Obviously it's nothing good!" Chen snaps back, earning hushes from Suho and the rest of the crew. He immediately clamps his mouth shut, pink lips beginning to fade to white.  
  
Kyungsoo keeps taking tentative steps forward, closer towards the cave, keeping close to the edge of the clearing. Another roar rips through the air, this time blaring in their ears and the ground trembles as if an earthquake had happened under their feet.  
  
The Dark Thorn suddenly appears from the center of the clearing, coloring from the abnormal spot of air into a beast the size of Death's Angel, black in color with a flaming mane that spreads down the beast's back. Chains entangle the beast's wrists and ankles, clanking as he digs his long, blood red claws into the ground. He is ferocious, his teeth razor sharp where they gleam past the beast's lips as he roars.  
  
They're all a little frozen, finding a beast appearing from thin air- just before their eyes. But with one swipe of the Dark Thorn's claws, Kyungsoo is thrown back into the brush a ways from the rest of the crew.  
  
"Kyungsoo!" Baekhyun shouts, adrenaline pumping through him fast and it draws the Dark Thorn's attention. The beast disappears instantly.  
  
"Watch the air!" Luhan exclaims, backing away towards where Kyungsoo had been thrown. Sehun wields his sword, fumbling to find the hilt, sweaty in his palms once he finally grasps it, and watches the way the air moves towards Suho.  
  
"Captain!"  
  
Tao manages to strike the beast from behind with a quick swipe of his two thin swords. The beast, enraged, immediately charges for Tao who just barely manages to dodge out of the way. Lay immediately strikes from behind, cutlass running close to the beast's calf and firing a shot at the knee.  
  
"We'll have to sever the head!" Tao says, making another charge for the beast, sword aiming for the neck. He just barely dodges a swipe of the beast's claws, skidding into the bushes to evade the attack.  
  
Sehun stumbles back when the beast's tail swings for him, dropping his sword in surprise. He spends only a moment too long trying to get ahold of his sword because the Dark Thorn has a claw raised, swinging down at him.  
  
The claw stops with a clank resounding- Minseok's managed to stop the claw long enough for Sehun to roll out of the way and grab his sword. Minseok dodges just in time with Tao's deeper cut into the beast's neck.  
  
"Just a few more swings should do it! Weaken its legs if you have to!" he shouts from the beast's back, swinging down again. Suho and Chen cut at the beast's calf simultaneously, effectively slowing it down. Its wail nearly throws Tao off his back, yet Tao easily lands another strike to the neck. Black blood spurts from the Dark Thorn's mouth, painting the dull greenery of the forest in black.  
  
And Sehun sees the gap, the beast's underside is vulnerable. He gets up and is ready to charge forward when Minseok charges ahead of him through the opening and strikes at the belly.  
  
Sehun follows, striking in the center of the beast's chest and Tao deals the last move, finally severing the beast's head from the body. The crew slinks to the edges of the clearing, hoping to escape the black blood of the beast seeping to the forest floor.  
  
The beast vanishes, and all that remains is its blood.  
  
"We did it," Chanyeol whispers, incredulous. He's kneeled down by Kyungsoo's side, using the torn pieces of the latter's shirt to bind the claw wounds cut into his stomach. "We actually beat it!"  
  
In his excitement, Chanyeol scoops Kyungsoo into his arms, agitating his wounds but more so bringing about a flustered Kyungsoo who hits at Chanyeol's chest and threatens to be put down. Laughter breaks out amongst the crew, welcomed and almost hysterical as they look back to there the beast had laid slain.  
  
"We're almost there," Suho cheers, a bright smile wide on his face- one that everyone had missed- even if he has to be supported by Chen.  
  
"Almost there," Sehun mutters to himself, laughing a little at their messy crew. They are all missing pieces, whether physically or mentally from the torrents of the world. But they are his patchwork family.  
  
Win together, lose together, fight together.  
  
"Now let's get to that fountain."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Just as the map had said, the Fountain is at the end of the beast's cave. It's a harder traverse with Chanyeol carrying Kyungsoo, Chen supporting Suho, Sehun missing steps and Minseok catching him, Luhan stumbling on the rocky terrain, and Baekhyun tipping off taller rocks, unbalanced when he tries to jump ahead. Lay leads the group, map in hand, running ahead when a light gleams at the end of the cave.  
  
"This is it!" he exclaims, running ahead of the group to the land beyond. "It's really here!"  
  
The Fountain stands in the center of a field, tall grass interspersed with flowers of every color surrounding the stone structure. It is fairly small, barely reaching Sehun's hip, but is made from the sacred clay of the Earth Nation, carved with the intricate details of the Water Nation's oldest artists, and preserved by the solidifying heat of the Fire Nation. The water bubbles clear in the center, cascading over the stone and into a small basin in the ground.  
  
They take tentative steps, as if the fountain would be an illusion, until they are within arm's reach. Suho reaches out first, smiling excitedly when the water flows over his palm and slips between his fingers. He quickly cups his hands and drinks, sighing as the cool water slides down his throat.  
  
The rest of the crew take handfuls afterwards, filling up what bottles they'd brought and drinking until their stomachs couldn't handle any more. And then they bathe with the water, only when Tao decides to splash Chen first, beckoning a water fight. It ends with them all drenched and Minseok furiously chastising them about how he'll have to change Baekhyun's and Sehun's dressings now.  
  
After Kyungsoo's wounds have been dressed, Sehun gets his bandages changed, sitting along the raised side of the basin and splashing the water around with his fingertips. Minseok cleans his wound and removes new cloth from his travel sack to use. The doctor sighs afterwards, running fingers through his damp hair.  
  
Sehun gathers a bit of the water on his fingertips and wipes them against Minseok's plump, reddened lips. He smiles cheekily before kissing the doctor, gripping the back of Minseok's neck to prolong their kiss. It's still tentative and shy when they know the crew is watching- with the snickers that follow. But he knows Minseok won't mind.  
  
"And what could I have done to deserve such a wonderful kiss," Minseok sighs, batting his eyelashes excessively.  
  
Sehun pulls the star shaped charm, dunks it in the water, and places it in Minseok's palm. He wraps the doctor's fingers around it, meeting the older's eyes with a soft smile.  
  
"For believing in that dumb fate and destiny," he says, blushing to the tips of his ears.  
  
Minseok laughs, truly laughs with his gums showing and his cheeks flushing and his shoulders shaking. "You're right. I suppose that dumb destiny did us some good."  
  
He brings Sehun into another kiss, longer and more passionate than the last. His eyes are brighter than Sehun's ever seen them, sparkling with the reflection of the water and the sun setting behind them.  
  
And now, he has forever to treasure Minseok- more valuable than any pirate treasure. Because Sehun has never been happier than he has been with Minseok.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**Epilogue**  
  
  
  
  
  
“So is Captain Suho still alive?”  
  
“Does Chanyeol fall in love with Kyungsoo?”  
  
“I bet Baekhyun grows his arm back!”  
  
“No, silly! People can’t grow their limbs! We aren’t lizards.”  
  
Sehun chuckles, ruffling the hair of the little boy perched in his lap. “Baekhyun doesn’t grow another limb, but he does get a metal arm instead.”  
  
The boy in his lap looks up at him in awe, jaw gaping. “Does it hurt?” he murmurs.  
  
“Not at all,” he replies, readjusting the boy in his lap. “It only hurts like a real arm would.”  
  
Shocked gasps fall amongst the children surrounding his legs. This is a small town, he muses, a small smile growing on his face. Minseok and Suho have come a long way from this place.  
  
“So what happens next, Mr. Sehun?”  
  
“The mommies and daddies all call the pirates back home for lunch.” Minseok intrudes, a large smile on his face as all the children moan.  
  
“But Mr. Minseok, Mr. Sehun needs to tell us another story!”  
  
“Yeah, it’s too early for lunch!”  
  
“I think you should listen to Mr. Minseok. I’m sure your parents are waiting for you all at home,” Sehun says lifting the boy from his lap and sitting on his knees next to the children. He picks up the bouquet of white lilies he’d set aside before. “But I’ll tell you all this,” he whispers, “Suho lives and though Kyungsoo won’t admit it, he’s completely in love with Chanyeol.”  
  
“I knew it!” the oldest girl giggles, a proud smile on her face as she grabs the hand of two younger boys and sets off to their home. All the children wave goodbye to Sehun, and a few run back to give him a hug, making him promise that the next time he comes to visit, he has to stay longer.  
  
“Those kids really like you,” Minseok says, linking his arm with Sehun’s and leading him down a cobblestone path away from the market.  
  
“They’re just intrigued by the eye patch,” he remarks, smile softening as they make their way through the farm fields.  
  
Feng is a smaller city than the one Sehun grew up in, but it is far more peaceful. A forest surrounds the edge of the town, varying hues of greens and yellows blooming for the arrival of spring. The rolling farm hills extend for miles around the city, long stalks of produce swaying with the spring breeze that blows through. Small flower patches line the cobblestone road, dotting the grass with spots of purple and white, pink and red.  
  
Minseok leads him far down the cobblestone road, past wide stretches of the hills until he reaches a flat area atop a hill, gated by a white picket fence and surrounded by flowers.  
  
Feng Cemetery, reads the worn sign nailed to the fence.  
  
In the farthest row of the cemetery is a headstone, carved from a worn white rock. The words have nearly eroded away by the frequent storms the Earth Nation has. However there are a fresh set of flowers placed before it. It was probably from Suho, having refused to visit the grave with them to instead travel on another day, alone.  
  
Sehun sets the white lilies on the grave, keeping his head bowed. He steps away after giving Minseok’s sister his blessings to let Minseok kneel closer to his sister’s grave and give him a moment alone.  
  
He meanders over to a nearby tree, watching as the pink blossoms sprouting from the branches sway with the gentle breeze. It’s been twenty five years since they’d found the Fountain, and so far, no one had aged a day older. While Suho’s heart was still weak, it had grown stronger over the passing years. Baekhyun had been fitted with an auto-mail arm when they’d made it back to Terre, and it took him no time at all to become used to using it. He even made sure to have it fitted with a retractable blade before they’d left and set off for their next quest to the Cave of Wonders, nestled far off the coast of the Water Nation.  
  
Adventure after adventure, Death’s Angel’s name was commonplace in the streets. Everyone knew the tales of the crew searching for the Siren’s Heart, a jewel so mesmerizing anyone who found it was put under its trance for eternity, finding the Lost City of Fira, a Fire Nation city that had fallen long ago to war but riches buried deep within the ruins, and of traversing through jungles to find a blue scaled dragon that lived upon the mountains at the end of the jungle.  
  
Minseok soon comes to sit next to him under the tree, knees drawn up to his chin and hands wrapped around his legs. The paopu fruit charm is clutched tightly in his fist.  
  
“Do you think your sister would’ve liked me?” Sehun asks, plucking handfuls of grass beside him and tossing them when the wind blows. They float off a few feet before the wind stops and they land softly to the ground. “I mean, would she have been okay with you liking me?”  
  
Minseok chuckles, ruffling Sehun’s hair like he’d done to the village children. “What a thoughtless question,” he says. He inches closer, pulling Sehun for a kiss and then smiling against his lips. His eyes are just damp, glistening with the tears he’s held for years. “Of course.” He grabs Sehun’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “She would’ve loved you, us, and being able to travel the world with Suho.”  
  
Sehun brings Minseok closer to him, arm tight and reassuring around his shoulders. He lets Minseok rest his head on his shoulder as the wind grows colder with night approaching. They stay underneath the tree until night is bound to fall within the hour, and they give their last words to the grave before leaving with promises of returning again.  
  
By the time they make their way to Terre, the city is bustling with celebrations of the spring festival. The streets are so crowded that Minseok switches to guiding Sehun from his blind spot to avoid bumping into people. Regardless, his eye patch beckons attention from the adults lining the streets deep in conversation and the children running through the closed market stalls. He doesn’t mind so much, but it does make it hard to navigate when people are always surprising him from his blind spot, trying to ask him questions.  
  
They make it back to the ship easily enough, Sehun only tripping once when kids push between him and Minseok to chase after a dog running through the streets. When they make it back on board, Luhan is there to drag Minseok away into a conversation about the local drinks Luhan had been amazed by.  
  
“Don’t worry, lover boy,” Baekhyun says, slinging his arm around Sehun’s shoulders. He still hasn’t grown used to the cold metal pressing against his neck, and Baekhyun enjoys watching it make him shiver every time.  
  
“I’m not worried,” Sehun huffs, indignant. “You should be the one worried that no one will find you attractive.”  
  
“Hey, you brat! I’ll have you know there are women just waiting for me back in the Fire Nation.” Baekhyun pushes him aside, sulking off to go bother Chen instead. Sehun hides his smile behind his hand when Baekhyun whips around to shoot him a nasty glare.  
  
He wanders over to the side of the boat, back pressed against the wooden rails. Lay looks happy chatting with Chen, Tao, and Baekhyun, laughing each time Baekhyun cracks a snarky remark at Chen and Tao whines at something or another. Luhan looks exceptionally excited as Minseok retrieves a vial of sweet liquid from his pocket- one they’d stopped by the market earlier to pick up for Luhan to try. Chanyeol sits on a crate opposite to where Sehun stands, Kyungsoo bending down to kiss him as fireworks from Terre are launched into the night sky.  
  
“Crew!” Suho exclaims, swinging the door to the deck wide open. It startles Chanyeol and Kyungsoo enough to make them look away from each other sheepishly, flushing even in the darkness of the night.  
  
The crew all gather around Suho, who has a map clenched tight in his fist. His eyes shine with the adrenaline, excitement, and adventure pulsing through every fiber of his body. He lets the map open, revealing another rustic map with a large tear through the center, but the trail to an encircled treasure is clear on the map.  
  
“Who’s ready for our next adventure?”  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
